A New Dusk
by Sarah the Confused
Summary: what if there was another human/vampire relationship? What if these new characters met the Cullens? WIP right now, read and review :D
1. Chapter 1: First Day

Okay, so what's this all about, you may ask. I love twilight and it's universe, and I thought, "What if there was another Vampire/Human relationship?" So, this was born. This story starts out with another girl, Sarah, who found a very different Vampire. Later on, they may meet the Cullens. I've been working on this for a while, so handle with caution! :)

Disclaimer: Universe is Stephenie Meyer's, but a few things are actually mine! Wow, it's weird to say that... later characters are her's though. :)

Okay, here it is...

Chapter 1: First Day

I wasn't looking forward to lunch that day. After a morning of boring lectures and seat choosing - twice having to sit by myself - I now faced a bit of a dilemma. This school, Pictou Academy, was a middle class school. As all of my old friends from middle school had gone to the slightly less maintained and cheaper Northumberland Regional High, there was no one I could sit with.. I stood in line waiting for my lunch, when I saw him.

Later, I would realize there were two other people at the table, facing away from me, but at that moment, I forgot everything. I forgot that the lunch lady was waiting impatiently for my five dollars. I forgot that the entire school body – all three hundred and sixty eight of them – were present. I forgot my reputation. I forgot my name. All this, just from a look.

No, not just a look. This look was indescribable. At first, I was frozen by the eyes. They were an odd colour of gold, but seemed to grow slowly darker as I watched them. There was no time anymore, just those incredible eyes. After an eternity of staring, I finally blinked. It seemed to clear my head just enough to both unclench the bill in my left hand to give to the woman, and let me focus on the rest of his face.

His eyes were still staring unblinkingly at me – though he might have blinked when I did – and as my eyes started to trace his face, his started to trace mine. I slowly took him all in. He was a masterpiece, pure and simple. His noes was soft but flawless. His lips were slightly open and he seemed to be breathing hard. His perfectly chiseled jaw was loosely set, his expression seemed... shocked? I looked up and saw that his hair looked slightly tousled, like he'd just been out in the wind. It was a beautiful brown, like chocolate, and was thick with different tones.

My gaze went back to his, and I could feel myself start to redden. How was I going to endure three more years of this school if I couldn't stop staring at the first cute guy I saw? But he wasn't cute. He was so much more, like a model or something only a computer could create. _And_, I reasoned with myself, _He was staring back._ I could feel my feet slowly move, and I was caught by surprise from the sudden lurch, breaking our eye contact. I looked up from my feet to see him smiling at my awkwardness, and I nearly tripped from the sheer beauty that his smile showed. This, of course, only made his smile grow. I shook my head in an attempt to clear it to no avail. I started to walk blindly, my eyes only seeing him. I felt as I nudged a table, and sat down dumbly, never taking my eyes off of his. The girl who sat with him – A tiny redhead from all that I could tell from her back – was trying to get his attention, but our eyes contact never broke. It was like there was a line, or more preciously, a _force _between us that we couldn't break. Finally, slowly, he turned his head a fraction of an inch and nodded to whatever the redhead was saying. I blinked again, but this time my eyes stayed closed.

I shook my head. My mind raced with hundreds of questions. What was wrong with me? Who was that guy? Where'd he come from? I felt for my pizza, sticking my finger in the still hot cheese. I gasped at the heat and opened my eyes in surprise. I heard someone laughing and looked up. _He_ was laughing. His laughter was beautiful, more like a song then anything else. His eyes seemed to sparkle, and his smile seemed to have grown to twice it's usual size. I wiped my hand on my napkin and continued trying to eat.

The whole time – the slowest yet quickest thirty minutes of my life – I didn't look up again. I could feel his gaze, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I sipped my milk quietly and tried to calm myself down. After I ate my pizza, I slowly stood up, never taking my eyes off of the floor in front of me. Classes would start in a few minutes, so I headed to my locker.

Once I had gotten my books together, I started looking for room 209, English 10. It was on the second floor and pretty packed. I sat at the back of the class, next to an empty chair. The teacher was sitting at his computer and seemed oblivious to all the noise from the students. I rummaged through my bag for my weatherbeaten copy of Harry Potter. I was just getting comfortable when the teacher called the class to order. He introduced himself as Mr. Hong. He was a portly man with a sandy coloured crew cut and a short mustache. He started to read aloud the register, stopping once or twice to write down a preferred name or misprint.

"Uh, Sarah Hogan?" His eyes skimmed the room until finally landing on my raised hand. He looked back down and checked off my name.

The list wasn't alphabetical, but seemed to go from the first to sign up for the course to the last. After a few more minutes of role call, I saw movement coming from the hall. The door opened and I gasped.

There he was. Him, Mr. Golden Eyes himself. Now that he was standing up, he seemed to tower over the teacher. His frame was well built, and I couldn't believe that he could be my age with all that bulk. I looked around, and saw that I wasn't the only girl caught off guard. His eyes roamed the room until he saw the seat next to mine – the only one left – and then he looked at me, smiling. I could almost feel myself melt. What was I doing? I wasn't an easy girl, so why was I feeling like this? I couldn't stop staring at him as he talked to the teacher. Mr. Hong seemed a bit perturbed, but nodded a few times and went back to his list. Hewalked slowly over to the seat next to me. I could feel my breath stop, but that seemed to be the least of my worries. What was breathing, compared to this... god. He smiled down to me and sat. I could feel the stares of almost every girl on me, but I couldn't make myself care. I felt that my mouth was gapping open, so quickly shut it.

Mr. Hong was still calling students, and I tried to concentrate. Maybe I could hear the name of my new crush. _No_, I thought to myself, _that's not it. I've had crushes before, and this seems to be... more. I'm crazy. I've known this guy for less then an hour._

"Uh, Carter Brown?" Mr. Hong looked up to find the student. The guy next to me raised his hand leisurely, seeming totally at ease.

Carter? It seemed an odd name. Brown was tolerable, better then most last names in the class. It seemed to fit him. I looked down at my desk and saw I still had my book there. I felt myself redden, hoping he wouldn't think my book was too childish. I started to pack it back into my bag, but he, of course, saw. I froze at the sound of his beautiful laugh.

"Harry Potter, huh?" He turned to almost fully face me. I looked down and felt my cheeks still grow redder. His voice was like a drug. I couldn't get enough of it. It was musical, but I could hear something like an echo of a much rougher voice.

I could see, in my mind, what I would usually say. Some witty remark or sarcastic comment. I could picture his wonderful laugh at my joke. I drew in a breath, ready for the comeback of the year and said, "Yeah."

Yeah? _Yeah_? I had the most stunning guy I had ever seen sitting with me, trying to talk to me, and all I could say was _yeah_? I must really have it bad.

"I read that a while ago. Which one is it?" He seemed honestly curious, go figure.

"Uh, the sixth one. I'm rereading it." I could barely breath from my nerves.

"Ah, I liked that one. What's your name? I didn't catch it from the register." His eyes scorched deep gold, giving me goosebumps.

"My name is," I pause for the smallest moment, trying to think while Carter was so close, "Sarah Hogan. Nice to meet you." Very nice...

"Well, hello Sarah. Beautiful name. Princess, although I'm sure you know that." He winked at me then turned to give his full attention to Mr. Hong. I sat, open mouthed and wide eyed at him. Slowly, I swiveled in my seat. For the next fifty odd minutes of class, I could honestly say I had no clue what Mr. Hong was going to teach us this year. Finally, as we were packing up to go, Carter turned to me.

"What's your next class?" He asked, the same open and honest expression on his face.

"Uh, let me check," I rifled through my bag to get my schedule, "I have... History 10. What do you have?" I tried not to sound hopeful, and failed miserably.

"What a surprise! So do I. Would you like me to walk you there?" He sounded so sincere, yet open, as if he was trying to let me know I could decline without hurting his feelings.

"Um, sure, that sounds good. Let me get my stuff." I turned to get them off the desk, only to see them in Carter's hands, along with his own. He smiled again, huge and full of unsuppressed joy, as though I had just given him a new car.

I felt awkward, walking next to Carter. He was so... cool, classy, spontaneous, the list went on. Why was he paying attention to me? He seemed to like me, but I barely qualified to stand near him, let alone walk and talk with him.

_Maybe he likes you._ A voice said in my head. It gave me a start. Usually the voices in my head sounded like my real one. This sounded like a guy's – though either way, it _was_ in my head – and actually, amazingly like Carter's. Great, I was going mad. I looked up at him, but he was staring off at the end of the hall, concentrating. _He could, you know. Stranger things have happened. Maybe you should just see how things play out._ The voice was starting to both creep me out and also make sense. That was a bad sign.

We arrived at the math class a few minutes early. Carter strode past me and placed his things on one of the back tables. I looked self consciously around the room, wondering where to sit in the empty class. Carter coughed, making me look up. He picked my stuff up from on top of his, and placed them on the table beside him. I felt myself starting to blush and slowly walked over to my seat, smiling shyly as I sat down. He was staring at the opposite wall, deep in concentration.

"Sarah, can I ask you something?" His golden eyes turned to mine, gentle and soft. I nodded, and he smirked at my non verbal response. What would he want to know?

"Well, you seem like an interesting person. I'd love to know some more about you. Would you like to sit with me and my family at lunch tomorrow?"

I let the words sink into me. He wanted to know more about me. He wanted to talk with me. _Say yes._ The voice in my head suggested, _He's a nice guy, why not?_ I smiled as I thought of what might happen, letting my imagination get carried away.

Carter watched as I thought in silence. He cleared his voice and said, "It's perfectly fine if you don't want to, I'll understand. I merely wanted to find out a bit more about you. You don't seem to know very many people here."

"Is it that obvious? I thought I was being subtle." We both laughed softly at my sarcasm, "It's very nice of you to ask, thank you. I... yeah, sure. I'll sit with you." I smiled up to him, trying to match his exuberance. His smile seemed to falter, and he became much more serious.

"Well, one thing you should know. My family, well, they kind of live in their own little world, away from outsiders. Don't worry if they give you the... cold shoulder," He chuckled at some sort of inside joke, "They're really great siblings, but they're a bit too... over protective of me to say the least." I nodded to him.

At that moment, the bell rang, and the rest of class started to pile in. I took out my notebook to try and write down what the teacher – an old senile woman named Mrs. Kempt – said. After about half an hour of endless lecturing, I looked down at my notes and groaned. All through the margins I had drawn no less then seventeen eyes. I sighed and closed my notebook. I was about to go back into my coma like trance, when I felt something nudge my elbow.

There was a note, folded over a few times. I looked over at Carter, who winked at me. I opened it nervously.

Pretty boring, huh? Do you know what she's talking about? I lost track about ten minutes ago.

I shook my head and scribbled a quick response.

My my, what have you been concentrating on that could have deterred your mind from this... um... History?

It was a lot easier to think when I couldn't see him. I passed the note back to him, biting my lip so as not to smile. After a long moment, I felt the note nudge me. I quickly grabbed it and whipped it open.

Wow, this is history? That blew over my head. I was actually concentrating on this girl in my class. She doesn't seem to know anyone from here, and I thought I'd start passing notes with her. I wonder what her favorite colour is. I'll bet it's green. She seems like a green person.

I had to hold my hand over my mouth to stop from giggling. I thought for a moment before I wrote back.

Girl, huh? Lucky thing. I would guess that she likes green, but I'm pretty certain her favorite colour in actually red. I think it's the warmth it has. I didn't know there were different people colours. Is yours... blue?

I quickly folded the note back and passed it to him. I concentrated a bit more on the lesson, although it seemed I wasn't the only one preoccupied. Almost everyone was either passing notes or reading under their desks. The note nudged me, and I unfolded it yet again.

Well, I suppose she could be lucky, I wouldn't know. My colour is probably light brown.

Light brown? That's... a bit different.

Well, it used to be dark green, but then I saw the most beautiful pair of eyes in the most amazing shade of brown. I'm sorry, are you uncomfortable?

No, that's not why I'm blushing. Hey, your a lefty! Stop nudging me. Your arm is so stiff and cold!

Wow, you just noticed? Sorry, I'll try to stay out of your way. My arm is perfectly fine. Maybe yours is just...

What, frail?

Frail? What? I was going to say delicate, but okay...

Sorry, I shouldn't be rude. You're just trying to be nice.

Nice? I'm nice? Well, that's hurtful. I wasn't trying for nice.

What _were_ you trying for?

Well, probably mysterious. Is it working? Oh crap, the teacher's stopped talking. Hide this.

Before I could write another word, the paper was gone. Mrs. Kempt had stopped talking to apprehend two boys in the front row who had also been passing notes. One, a scruffy looking lanky boy and the other, a short boy with a buzz cut. After a small lecture on the intolerance of rule breaking, the class returned to normal. I looked at Carter out of the corner of my eye, and saw his rapt attention. I sighed, and doodled in my notebook for the rest of class.

Finally, the bell rang for the end of the day. I packed up my things and headed towards the door, waiting in line behind everyone else filing out of class. Carter was behind me, silent and seemingly lost in thought. I got to the door after a few more minutes of shoving and jostling.

Once I got away from Carter, I was able to think. What was it about him? I'd never been one of these swooning girls who took one look at a guy, and convinced themselves it was true love. Quite the opposite, I was the girl who laughed at all the silly girls, and watch the drama off to the side. He was handsome – no, much more then that – and smart, from what I could tell from our short conversation. He had some sort of... attraction to him. It was like I knew already that I wanted, no, needed him. That I had to see him again.

I got to my locker, and paused. What was my combination? I looked around at the other students, all of them quick to leave. I looked back down at my lock. As hard as I tried, I couldn't remember the numbers. The boy next to me, the scruffy one from History, looked over. He smiled at me while he shoved his books into his bag.

"Hey, you're Sarah, right?" His voice was low and hoarse.

"Uh, yeah. What's you're name?" He had stopped packing and was putting on his jacket. I looked down at my locker again, angry that I had managed to lock myself out on my first day.

"I'm Henry. It's nice to meet you. Uh," Henry looked a bit uncomfortable, "Why aren't you getting your things?"

"Because I've forgotten my combination. Do you know where the office is? They might have the number there."

Henry was about to answer, when a musical voice sounded inches from my ear, "That won't be necessary."

I wheeled around, and there he was, Carter. In his hand was the slip of paper that had the locker combination on it. I smiled up at him, barely mirroring the huge grin on his face.

"Don't worry, I didn't look. You might want to fix the hole in your sweater's pocket though, I might not be behind you next time something slips out." He winked at me, making Henry cough quietly. Carter smiled, handed me the paper, and walked down the hall – looking like a runway model.

"Uh, do you two know each other?" Henry asked me. I turned back to my locker and opened it so that he wouldn't see my slight blush.

"No, not really. He's just helping me get use to the new school. I've known him for less then three hours." It surprised me to think that all the melodrama had happened so fast.

Henry nodded, "That makes sense. He's a pretty friendly guy, though he's usually a bit more shy. His siblings, though. They are pretty darn exclusive, if that's the word. Well, actually, he's only siblings with one. She's the redhead, her name is Penelope. The other guy, Desmond is her boyfriend. They all live way over on Norway Point road. Oh, my bus will be here in a minute. It was nice to meet you." Henry waved and wheeled around, heading for the same door Carter had. The difference between both of them was astounding. Carter glided, while Henry... shuffled. I packed the rest of my things, and walked out into the cloudy day. Practically all of the cars were gone, and I was one of only a handful of people walking home. I listened to some music, concentrating on not thinking about Carter. Unfortunately, he was exactly what I ended up thinking about.

I needed to stop this. He probably thought I was a poor new girl... a poor _slow_ new girl that needed help finding her way. His eyes seemed burned into my retinas, keeping the fiery emotion. I wondered about tomorrow, and what lunch would be like. Would he really want me to sit with him? It wasn't a huge deal, but just the act of welcoming seemed so nice in a school so close nit. After a few more minutes of mindless daydreaming, I got to my house.

Roger, my dad, was waiting for me on the porch. He patted the seat next to him lightly, smiling. I sat with him, setting my bag down.

"How was your first day of school, kiddo?" It was a bit strange to hear his gruff voice after an afternoon of Carter's.

"It was... interesting. Do you know the Browns?" Maybe I could get their story out of him.

My dad scratched his cheek, "Well, not really. They live out by themselves, but they're really great folks. Their father works at the local law firm, and I think their mother works part time in some design studio. The kids are good, I suppose. I haven't heard about any trouble. Do you want a snack?" I nodded and we got up. I sat at the kitchen table, waiting for my father. It was a sort of tradition that every day after school, my father would try and make both of us food. Usually it was granola bars, sometimes crackers and cheese. Today, my dad made a fruit tray, with apples, oranges, and grapes. We sat together and ate in silence. Katie, my little sister, was out with one of her friends. She was eight, and one of the most hyperactive things I could imagine.

I finished my snack, and went into the living room. It wasn't big, but comfortable. I started pulling out my textbooks. Since I hadn't paid any attention in class, I would have to know what we were covering. My dad walked in and turned on the TV, flopping on the couch. We spent a few hours just like this, quiet but comfortable. That's about the best ways to describe Roger and me.

We had supper – pizza – and Katie arrived home. She had had a very busy day, full of new things she was going to learn in grade three. My dad listened to every one of her stories, nodding in all the right places. I had to hand it to my dad, he could be very patient and kind when he wanted to be.

Katie wanted to watch one of her cartoons before bed. I let her, but reminded her of her bedtime. I said goodnight to Roger, and went to bed. I slept pretty well that night after my busy day, but that meant I dreamed.

I was in a field, alone. I could see mountains off in the distance. I tried to walk, but my feet wouldn't move. I looked around. As I did, the field started to change. The grass grew until it turned into a forest. I felt like I was moving through water, I was moving so slowly. I turned to see Henry. He was waving to me. I tried to wave back, but my hand wouldn't move right. I turned my head again and saw Carter on the other side of the field. He grinned at me, but the smile made me cringe. It was almost evil. It showed the teeth, white and perfectly straight. I tried to back away, but he was walking too quickly towards me. I tried to turn, and there was his redheaded sister, Penelope. She was glaring past me to Carter. I stopped trying to get away, and turned back to Carter.

He was still grinning at me. He was _inches_ away from me, leaning down to my level. He stop grinning to say, "Harry Potter, huh?" He leaned closer and closer towards me. With that, everything went black.

Hmm, so there it is. Stay tuned for chapter 2, Lunch

(review :) )


	2. Chapter 2: Morning

**Okay, so here's the next chapter! Thank you VERY much for the reviews, they were very helpful :) A few reference pictures are on my profile, so check them out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own twilight or it's universe/characters. I do own my own characters though, so no stealing :)**

Chapter 2:

The alarm must have woken me up. It was seven thirty and time to get up. I was always slow in the morning. I could hear Katie practically leaping down the stairs. Roger was probably already in the kitchen, getting our lunches ready. I tried to remember my dream, but it all seemed very fuzzy. I let it go, stretching my way to the bathroom.

After a short shower, I looked around my closet. What could I wear? What said, "I'm-not-desperate-but-available"? What would make me... pop? I settled on my favorite pair of jeans and a cranberry coloured shirt. No need to overdo it.

When I walked in the kitchen, I froze. Roger was staring at the ceiling with his hands on his hips. Katie was running around the kitchen table like a maniac. I looked up, and saw five or six pancakes being whipped around and around by the fan. Roger looked over at me apologetically, and I just shook my head. Roger flipped off the switch for the fan, and the pancakes slowly stopped revolving. One fell on Katie's head.

"Sarah! Sarah, look! The pancake is on my head! Pour the syrup on me!" Katie shrieked. The pancake slowly slid from her face onto the floor. _Great_, I thought, _This is going to be one of those days._

I really don't know how we had done it, but somehow we got to the van in time. Katie was dressed and fed, Roger was ready for work, and I was... presentable. Roger worked at the local bank. He rarely talked about his job, since he knew we we thought it was boring. I couldn't see how crunching numbers and filing papers could be that good a job. He'd usually say that he did it for the town, since we _did_ need a bank.

Roger dropped off Katie first. She kissed his cheek and gave me a hug before skipping towards her friends. I could see them all playing a game with a big rubber ball. Roger started the old engine again and we started towards my school.

I got there a few minutes early. Roger waved goodbye to me and drove off towards the bank. I could feel that this would be a very long day.

I had thought that the day would go slowly as I waited for lunch. I had pictured the classes creeping by so that I would have time to really think of what to do. Funny, how wrong I was.

I barely sat down in my English class before it was over. I looked up at the other students leaving. Where did the hour go? I only had two more before Carter!

One of the girls in a large group came over to me. She was quite small, with short blond hair. She had a very honest face.

"Hi, I'm Erin. Are you alright? You seem a bit. . . disturbed." She was blushing already. She seemed pretty shy.

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking though. Uh, what's your next class?"

Erin relaxed a bit, "Physics with Mr. Faraday," I could see her friends trying to get her attention. She sighed, "Sorry about them. They can be a bit impatient. I'll see you around, uh," She looked at me expectantly.

"Sarah." I answered. She smiled and rushed to join her friends.

French was next. The teacher, Mr. Gianni, was a bit strange. He was Italian, but had lived most of his life in Finland. He spoke French, and now lived here. I couldn't help but wonder why. Why would anyone want to live in this tiny town? I loved it here but still, I didn't pick this place. I turned my thoughts to more important things. Namely, Carter.

As Mr. Gianni started to explain Passé Composé – five minutes into class, and I was already lost in French grammar – I thought of other girls I had seen trying to win over guys. I remembered that they had always acted dumb. And flirty. Great, two things I really sucked at. I can't help it, I'm smart, and probably can't flirt to save my life – not that I've had that many opportunities to do so. I sighed in frustration. This would be so much easier if I was easy! I paused and laughed at my own thoughts. Maybe playing dumb wouldn't be as hard as I had thought.

Before long class was over. Mr. Gianni had given us some worksheets he called 'fiches'. I walked with a few classmates who had Chemistry with me. I never saw Carter in the halls. Henry was in my class, so I sat with him. It was easy to talk with him. He and Erin – the girl who had talked to me in English – had been going out for a few months now. He really seemed crazy about her. I began to think about Carter again. How obsessed could I get? Henry was telling me a funny story about how he and Erin met – it involved a cactus and bubble gum – but I couldn't get carter out of my mind. Actually, it almost felt like someone was _pressing_ it into me. Like I was being forced to think about it. I shook my head to clear it. Henry seemed to think I was responding to something in his story.

"I know, right? I couldn't believe it either! Here was this beautiful, smart, wonderful girl, and I had a huge wad of bubble gum in my hair! So anyways - " The image of Carter was back, so I involuntarily blocked him out.

Fifteen minutes until Lunch. . . Ten minutes. . . Five minutes. . .

"And so yeah, I can't wait to introduce you two! Erin's really sweet! Oh look, it's time to go! See ya, Sarah." I heard Henry get up. I sat for a moment longer, calming myself. Before I knew it, I was at the lockers. How did I get here? I put each binder and book in my locker slowly. I ran out of things to put, so I began to shuffle everything around. Henry, who's locker was beside mine, saw me.

"Uh, what are you doing?" He was just about to close his own locker.

"Just cleaning up." I smiled sheepishly at him.

Henry looked past me to the cafeteria, "You should probably speed it up then, the line for food is getting pretty long. You probably want to find a good seat," Henry's small face lite up, "Oh, why don't you sit with us? It's just Erin and me!"

I felt pretty guilty to turn him down, "I'm really sorry, Henry. I promised I'd sit with someone else. Thanks though."

"Oh, alright. Well, see you around." Henry gave me a small smile and went to the cafeteria.

Finally, admitting defeat, I closed my locker. Almost everyone was already in the lunchroom. I was making my way to the back of the line – Henry had been right, it _was_ long – when I heard someone calling me. I looked up, and at the front of the line, there he was, Carter Brown. He was waving to me. I could see heads turn from him to me. I walked stiffly towards him.

"What took you so long?" His smile was so warm, like it was only meant for me.

Before I thought of an excuse, he shrugged and walked up to the lunch lady. I got the Italian lasagna, and Carter got a very bland looking ham and cheese sandwich.

Carter led me to his table. There with him was the redhead and another boy. The girl was very thin with very small features except for her large, doe like eyes. They were almost golden, just a few tones darker then Carter's. I remembered her name was Penelope. Her long red hair fell perfectly straight down past her shoulders. She would have looked perfect, if it hadn't been for the strange expression on her face. It was one of disgust, or great dislike. It was hard to tell.

The other boy must have been Desmond Brown. He had very short dark hair and almost yellow eyes, they were so light. He seemed a bit sad, but when he saw Carter and I approach, he smiled warmly to us. I smiled back shyly. Penelope positively glared at him. This could be a very long lunch. . .

**Alright, so what will happen at lunch? Are there any questions you'd like answered? well, put your question or idea in a review, and I'll try to put as many as possible in the next chapter :) love y'all!**


	3. Chapter 3: Lunch

**Author's Note: wow, i hate author's notes XP. Ah well. Anyways, this is more of a filler until I get past my writer's block. . . I've written a lot of the middle and climax of this story, so I'm still working through the beginning. But never fear, I'll get through it :)**

**Thank you so much to readers and reviewers, you have no clue how much I love to see those hits go up! (Really, you don't. It might scare you...)**

**Disclaimer: Twilight Universe not mine, Stephenie Meyer's. Original characters _are_ mine, so don't steal them :) (but it would be cool to see fan fiction _of_ fan fiction... hmm Ponder)**

**And without further ado. . . **

Chapter 3: Lunch

Carter plopped down in one of the seats facing Desmond and Penelope. He looked up and patted the seat next to him. I sat rather stiffly. I could feel the stares on my back coming at me from all over the cafeteria. I really did try not to notice like the Browns did. They looked at each other for the most part.

I noticed something strange about Carter. He kept on furrowing his brow in concentration while staring at his siblings. It seemed like he was doing something to them, prodding them. Desmond watched me as I did him. His gaze wasn't scrutinizing, like Penelope, nor curious like Carter's. It seemed very open, peaceful. It made me feel wanted.

Carter and Desmond chatted absentmindedly about everything. Weather, sports, movies, everything. Whenever I would get close to saying my opinion though, all three Browns would look right at me. I would stammer and look down at my lasagna. I could see Carter glance at Penelope each time I would open my mouth. If I hadn't been distracted by trying to memorized his every feature, I would have been annoyed.

"So, Sarah," Penelope said about ten minutes into lunch, "How long have you lived in Pictou?" Both of the boys' heads snapped to look at me. It was almost funny, how anxious they seemed to be to hear my answer. Funny, and intimidating.

I cleared my throat, "Well, I was born in Halifax, but when I was four, we moved here to live near my grandparents. I've lived here ever since. What about you, I don't remember ever hearing about you." Even though Penelope was the one asking questions, I directed the question at Carter.

He smiled. I couldn't believe how much I _loved_ that smile. It was like it was only meant for me. The only possible thing better then that would have to be his musical voice as he answered my question, "This is our first year in a public school. We've always been home schooled before now."

"Wow, that must be a big change for you!"

"Trust me, you have _no_ idea." He and Desmond shared a laugh, some sort of inside joke. Penelope let a small smile escape her constant grimace. I could see that she was beautiful, almost _too_ beautiful. It was unsettling to be so close to three people that were _so_ good looking.

Penelope continued her questions. Everything from what my favorite clothing store was, to my ring size. Desmond, after hearing the answer to how many concerts I'd been to – four real ones – finally became disinterested. He got up and dumped his lunch – an untouched tuna sandwich. I noticed Penelope hadn't even bought anything, and Carter hadn't eaten his food either.

About thirty questions later, and Penelope was still reeling them at me. Carter was so interested, it was almost unnerving. But I found that I couldn't feel uncomfortable around him. He did everything with a natural flow, making it all seem so easy.

I was the only one flustered by the bell ringing for the afternoon classes to start. I said goodbye to the Browns to rush to my locker. When I got to the door, I looked back, needing just one more glimpse of him, Carter.

I saw Desmond with a very silly grin in the middle of giving Carter's hair a muss. Penelope was laughing at them. It sounded like bells chiming. I let out a small sigh. They really seemed like a happy family. A bit exclusive, but happy.

Once I sighed, all three heads snapped up to look at me. The shocked look on my face must have been hilarious, because Carter and Desmond started into a huge fit of laughter. Penelope was smiling not to me, but to them.

I got to my locker without incident after that. Henry and I chatted for a few minutes before English. He wanted to know what had gone on at "The Brown's Table" as he called it. I told him the truth. They had asked me a lot of questions, and listened. Henry seemed a bit disappointed that there hadn't been anything too big. I was starting to wonder what was going on between Henry and the Browns.

We collected all of our school things. Henry seemed pretty happy to walk me to class. Erin walked with us. It was pretty hard not to like Henry and Erin. They made a very cute couple. It was the small things they did, like Henry holding Erin's hand, or Erin standing on her tiptoes to reach Henry's lips. They were in their own little world. Once Erin left for her own class – Art – Henry looked sheepishly at me.

"I know it probably looks silly, but I really love her." I nodded to him as we entered the classroom. My mind started to race with thoughts of Carter. Carter and me. . .

He was already sitting, the grin still on his face. It was very easy to believe that he really cared about me. He patted the seat next to him, looking right next at me. I could feel my pulse quicken. Carter's smile grew even bigger, as if he could hear the sound. But no, that would be stupid.

I sat sown next to him, loving the anticipation of what might happen. . .

**Reviews are welcome and appreciated, they help me write :) Love ya'll**

**Sarah the Confused**


	4. Chapter 4: Project

**Author's note: Okay guys, the plot thickens! I may need to speed this story up in order to get to some action. . . Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to my Teacher Mr. Lanoue, whether that is good or bad, you can decide :)**

**This chapter was pretty fun to write, and I hope you find it fun to read!**

**Disclaimer: Universe and Later Characters are Stephenie Meyer's. Original Characters are mine.**

Chapter 4: Project

"Alright everyone, listen up! I know it's only your second day of school, but it is my firm belief that teachers should dive right into school work! Now, I'm going to split you all up in groups of two. Now now, don't complain! This project's going to be fun!" Mr. Hong looked at my class with a huge smirk on his face. Of coarse, it had to be one of those "fun" projects. I hated those. The teachers were so smug about them.

I tried to keep my eyes on my table. Would I get paired up with Carter? Or at least, Henry? Mr. Hong was starting to group everyone.

"Okay, Henry Barnes and Jeffery Milder, uh, Layla Sparks and Joseph Ferns." On and on the list went. I had begun to worry when he said, "Carter Brown and. . . Heather Macintosh." My heart sunk. Then again, it had been silly for me to think that out of all twenty three students, I would have been with _him_.

Before Mr. Hong could continue though, Carter let out a loud cough. He raised his hand lazily. Mr. Hong seemed a bit unruffled by the interruption.

"Yes, Mr. Brown?" His voice was laced with impatience.

"Well sir, I was wondering if I could partner up with Sarah Hogan. She just told me she was a bit uncomfortable with not knowing anyone in the class." Carter had the same concentrated expression he had worn in the cafeteria. I could hear a few girls sigh at his chivalry. Mr. Hong simply nodded, seemingly absolutely fine with the arrangement.

Carter looked over with a huge smile on his face, _my_ smile. I liked the sound of that. I rolled my eyes as he bowed to me before scooting his desk towards me. I could feel my pulse quicken as his shoulder nudged mine. I gasped at the pain I could suddenly feel. I rubbed where he had hit me. It was like he was a walking brick wall. A _cold_ brick wall. Carter didn't seem to have noticed my injury. Was this guy made out of steel?

Mr. Hong went to the front of the class and gave out the instructions, "You are supposed to describe the person next to you in your own words. Make sure to elaborate, and use a lot of description. Adjectives are your friend!" He gave the class a little wave, and sat down at his computer, becoming engrossed in whatever he was reading.

I froze up. How was I supposed to write about Carter without seeming. . . obsessed? How was I going to describe him? I looked over at him. He had a huge smirk on his face as he took out some paper. He handed some to me.

Mr. Hong looked up and addressed our class, "Oh yes, I forgot. I don't want just a description of what your partner looks like. No, no, why would I want that?" He chuckled to himself, "I want your partner's personality. What they like and don't, and yes, what they look like of course."

Everyone started to interview their partners. I turned to fully face Carter. He was poised with his pen directly above the paper, eyes twinkling. I bit my lip nervously.

Carter whispered, "So do you want to start, or should I?" I compressed the sigh that was building from the sound of his voice.

I gulped shyly, "Uh, I'll go first. Um, what's your height?" I looked up slightly.

Carter grinned, "I'm six four, with my sneakers on." I wrote it down.

"Um, okay, how about your hair colour?"

"I would think you could just look." Carter's smile turned slightly mocking.

"Hey, I'm just doing what Mr. Hong told me to. Don't shoot the messenger. Hair colour?"

Carter was still grinning, "Fine, fine. I have uh, brown hair. It's kind of long, with different shades. It looks good when wet, unlike most people's. I use Herbal Essences because I like the smell. It's bouncy." I couldn't help giggling as he demonstrated by shaking his hair around. Without my consent, my hand slowly started to reach up. If I could just touch his soft beautiful hair, If I could just reach out and-

Carter's laughter brought me out of my reverie. He was staring at my partially held up hand, "I know, I'm pretty hard to resist, huh?" My smile was on his face. He lowered his head in one swift – almost _too_ swift – movement until my hands touched his hair. In that moment, I stopped thinking.

It was a strange texture. Like tiny strands of silk, but it still had the texture of one object. It was so soft and yet it had a strange feeling of permanence, like you couldn't take it out if you tried. I moved my hands slightly and felt the coolness on my fingers. I looked down and saw Carter grinning up at me under his mop of hair. I grinned too as I massaged through his hair. We looked into each other's eyes – those beautiful deep golden eyes – and it seemed like he was the only thing in my life. Him, and this _hair_.

I heard a loud cough obstruct my happy little bubble. Carter raised his head slowly, but I couldn't let go of his hair. My hands seemed to know that I'd never feel something like this again. Carter laughed and reached for my hands with his. It was a surprisingly icy grip. Then again, it _was_ a rather cold day out.

I looked around. Practically everyone in the room was staring at us. There was a few seconds of silence before someone began to wolf whistle. A few more people joined in. I could hear some of the girls giggling. I felt my face redden and I looked up at Carter. He didn't even blush! He had a huge grin on his face. Mr. Hong coughed again as we backed away a bit from each other.

"Um, maybe we shouldn't do that again." I said. Carter shrugged, hid grin turning sheepish. If only he knew how much I wanted to do that again.

We continued my interview with no incident. A few people were still watching us, but Carter and I ignored them. A few times we would get into long conversations – mostly when we got to what Carter liked and didn't – that would last until Mr. Hong stopped us. At the end of class, we had barely covered half the questions we should have, let alone gotten to _my_ answers.

Mr. Hong told the class that if we hadn't finished the assignment, that we would need to finish it on our own time by Friday. Today was Tuesday.

Carter looked over at me, "Well, it seems we'll need to work some more on this. How about I pick you up at seven?" I actually think I froze. As in, physically couldn't move. Did Carter just ask me out? No, it's a project. . .

"Um, sure. Where do you want to go?" It took as much control that I could handle to not just squeal.

Carter thought for a second, "Well, it may take a while to write everything out, if we'll be at the pace we've been at so far," He gave me a cheeky grin, "How about the Braeside Inn Dining Room? I've heard it's quite good, about the best you can have in a town like this."

I nodded, "Um, I'll have to check with my Dad, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

Carter's smile grew, "Well, just tell him it's a project."

I felt my heart drop. Not that I really should have been expecting anything, but still, a girl could dream.

Carter's smile faltered, "I mean, tell your Dad that. I'm sure he doesn't need to know the gory details." He winked at me and my pulse leaped. The bell rang, And Carter, in one swift movement, was out the door.

I let out a big breath. This was going to be a long day after all. . .

**Read and Review, please! What should Carter ask Sarah? Hmm. . . **

**Love y'all!**

**Sarah The Confused**


	5. Chapter 5: Carter and his Hormones

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! End of school and all that :( I passed though, so I'm happy. Without further ado. . .**

**Disclaimer: Original Characters are mine, Universe and Future Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Ch.5 Carter and his Hormones

_P.O.V Carter Brown_

I left Mr. Hong's classroom in a blur. I screamed Penelope's name in her head, desperate to leave. Unfortunately, she had the keys to the car. Desmond was probably with her too.

I rounded the last corner between me and my exit when I bumped into someone. A vivid red haired someone.

"Carter Brown, where do you think you're going?" My sister glared at me.

"Pen, I promise to tell you later. Right now, I need to get home." Penelope rolled her eyes but followed soundlessly after me. Desmond was already in the car. I shut the door a tad too hard. That got his attention.

"Woah Carter, what's wrong?" Desmond was so used to only my positive moods.

"Des, please shut it and just drive." Desmond must have heard something in my tone, because he only nodded and started driving.

I only started to relax when I couldn't see the school. I sighed, which Penelope took as her cue.

"So Carter," She chirped, "What in the world has you so. . . out of sorts?" Her voice seemed a lot less attractive after hearing. . . _her_ voice all day.

"You really want to know? Well, lets see. First, you two did the freak out interrogation at Sarah, thus making her think my family's full of obsessive freaks. Second, a human girl touched my hair today. _She_ touched my hair today. And my teenage hormones are going into overdrive! Third, I just asked her out! On a _date_! In front of the whole class! Fourth, I have a project that I have to describe this girl _without_ sounding like a messed up stalker, And finally, I have to _not_ act like a huge pile of nerves by seven when I pick her up for our _date_!" by the end of my rant, my head was in my hands, and my breathing was slightly ragged.

The car was silent for half a minute. Penelope was the first to break it, "So Cart, are you saying. . . correct me if I'm wrong, but are you saying you. . . love this girl? Because you know, that's crazy. You've known each other for days, right?"

I countered her, "How long did you know Desmond before you knew he was your mate?"

Penelope sighed, "I see your point, but still! You two aren't even the same species, let alone compatible! Des, talk to him!"

Desmond was silent for a minute before quietly saying, "Carter, before you go proclaiming your eternal love, you might want to consider what Sarah thinks. Just because your overcharged hormones are ready, doesn't mean her _human_ ones are."

Desmond had a point. We finally got to our house and I bolted to my room. I took my first really deep breath in. . . a while.

Everything was a lot more clear without Sarah around. Her very scent was enough to leave me speechless! That sweet sweet smell, like honey and vanilla, mixed into something. . . mouthwatering. Just thinking about it left me breathless. I could still smell the lingering scent in my hair from her hands. Her lovely, warm, soft, velvety, small hands. I shook my head, trying to keep the memories of this afternoon at bay.

Penelope waltzed into my room unannounced. She plopped herself down on my couch and sighed, trying to get my attention. I loved my sister, but she wasn't the most tactful.

"Alright Carter, think logically," Penelope started as though we'd been talking for hours, "You don't know this girl at all. You don't know her past, her criminal record, her relationships, any addictions she might have, any, uh, viruses she might ha-"

Before Penelope could finish, I had her pinned to the north wall. She stared at me while I hissed and said, "Don't act like she's some kind of mutt. Sarah Hogan is a respectable human being. She has feelings. And you acting like she's something less then you really doesn't help your case. Who's side are you on, anyways?"

I backed off a few inches to let her speak, "Me? What about you, Carter? Which side are you on?"

"I'm with her. I'm with Sarah. So, either you accept that now, or. . . you not, and we keep our distance. She means that much to me, Pen."

Penelope shook her head, "But why? Why her? Why now? What's so special about this frail little human that you think you have to give up everything?"

Desmond had silently come between us and was looking at me with the same curious expression that Penelope wore. I had to explain this to them so they wouldn't question my decision. As much as I wish the opposite, I really needed my family. I craved for them to accept me. Accept _her_.

"Well, when I first saw her in the cafeteria, time. . . stopped. All of my worries just ceased to exist. It was only her. She looked so. . . right. I felt like I needed to protect her. She was too perfect to be tarnished. A little porcelain doll.

"And here I was, the bull in the china shop. I knew that I was her greatest threat. But I also knew that I _could_ be her greatest ally. If I could keep her safe, maybe I wouldn't be as much of a creature anymore."

Penelope raised an eyebrow, "So, you 'love' her because you want to protect her? Sounds like you just want to play bodyguard."

I nodded, "That's what I thought at first too. I remember when she poked her finger in her pizza. It burned her hand and the blood flowed fast. I remember looking at her face. She had the funniest expression, she was so shocked! Pen, I actually _laughed off _the blood lust. It. . . I still don't understand it.

That day, we talked a bit. She doesn't know anyone at the school. She's all alone. Well, except for that Henry kid, but he doesn't really count. And hey Des, she likes Harry Potter!"

Desmond perked up at that, "Really? Oh good, I'll be able to discuss the themes and characters with her! I wonder what her take is on the – I mean," Desmond stuttered at the glare from Penelope, "That's um, interesting."

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever Des. Anyways, I don't really understand it, but I think this is it Pen. I. . . I think this is the girl. My girl." I sighed at the thought. Mine. Someone who both belonged to me, and that I belonged to. Someone to give me reason and hope and. . . life.

I turned to face my siblings fully. Desmond was hugging Penelope's middle. Penelope has a bittersweet expression.

Desmond made a grand show of pretending to sob, "Look Pen, our little Carter is finally growing up!"

"Carter, just. . . be careful. I want you to be happy but just think before you act. You can be a bit. . . quick with decisions, so please think this all though. Please?"

I nodded, "Yeah yeah, I will. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go. I have a hot date. . . I mean, a project to discuss over supper with."

I could hear Desmond and Penelope talking about me as I started to run. There weren't very many streets in this town, and it wasn't long until I had found the Hogan residence. It took about three minutes for me to ring the door bell. I was nervous. No, anxious. No, both and then some. I was so filled with nerves, I thought I would explode.

The door opened at a deathly slow rate. I tried to arrange myself as calm, cool. If there was any point in my long history that I was sure my heart was alive and beating, it would be now. Actually, I _could_ hear a heartbeat, but it wasn't mine. The owner of said heart was standing in the door way.

Oh my God.

Sarah Hogan was standing there, her heart going as fast as my figurative one was. Her hair was slightly curled and the same beautiful shade of light brown, mixed with small hints of blond. Her scent filled the small patio and surrounded me. Her caramel eyes were staring into mine. She was wearing a very pretty black shirt. It was very. . . flow-y. She had a denim skirt that flared out at the bottom. She looked. . . astounding.

I cleared my throat before I said, "Sarah, are you coming?" Sarah nodded and smiled. I had to blink a few times to clear my head. That smile. . . it was a deadly weapon.

I started to turn, when horror struck me. My Sarah filled mind slowly remembered that I had ran here. And if I had ran here, that would mean there was no car. And with no car, that would mean -

"Wow, _that's_ your car?" Sarah had turned before I had. I followed her gaze to see Desmond's Impression, his Russian-German luxury car. I scanned the car, but no sign of Desmond. I had to remind myself to get him a better Christmas gift.

"Yeah. You like it?" How could I keep my voice so steady?

"Like it? I didn't think these were even out yet! Are you sure we should drive it?" Sarah giggled nervously, and I nearly lost it.

"Oh, It's no problem. As long as you don't drip anything on it." Maybe she'd like one for herself! I'm sure she'd like one. . . or two.

"Well fair lady, your uh, chariot awaits." I could feel the grin plastered on my face. She giggled again and we made our way to the car. Whatever was going to happen tonight, I was going to enjoy it. On the steering wheel was a small note that I quickly snatched before Sarah even got in the car. I read it quickly and grinned even bigger.

_To Mr. Head-Over-Heels,_

_Get her home early. We want to really get to know her tomorrow._

_Desmond._

_P.S If you need help, just talk about Harry Potter or something._

Yes, I would really need to get Desmond something great for Cristmas.

**There we go! I've already got the chapter after next finished, so next update _should_ have two chapters. No promises thought :)**

**Love y'all.**

**Sarah The Confused**


	6. Chapter 6:Pasta and Garlic

**Author's Note: So, since I haven't updated in a while, here's two chapters! Yay! :D This took Waaaay longer then expected. Arg.**

**Disclaimer: Universe is Stephenie Meyer's, OCs are mine. Nothing new here.**

**Oh, And thanks for the reviews guys, love them :D**

Chapter 6: Pasta and Garlic

I walked in my house tentatively. I had no plan on how to tell my father about my. . . meeting with Carter tonight. Nothing. Roger was defiantly not a regular father, and I had no clue what his reaction would be.

Katie was at the kitchen table babbling about her day to Roger, who was patiently listening to her. She smiled brightly to me and waved, pausing for mere seconds before continuing her gossip with my father.

I grabbed a handful of carrot sticks before going to the couch. I flicked through the television channel, completely lost in my thoughts.

Could this be a date? Or, was this really just a project? I wished I had payed attention to my friends when they had had this type of situation.

I was cut off of my train of thought by Roger sitting next to me on the couch. He looked at the television and raised an eyebrow, "Uh Sarah, since when have you liked reality T.V shows?"

I mentally smacked myself for not checking the channel before spacing out, "Uh, it's not too bad. . ." I trailed off lamely.

Roger chuckled, "Oh really? What's happened so far?"

"Um. . . the blond got in a fight?"

Roger rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever. Why are you so. . . out of it today? Bad day at school or something?"

I shook my head. I guess now was as good a time as ever to ask him permission, "No, it was fine. We got a new project. And actually," I tried to act like this I hadn't been thinking of this for the past hour, "We didn't finish it in class. It's a partner project, so can I work on it with my partner tonight?" I said everything just a bit too rushed, and made sure not to say the gender of my partner.

Roger shrugged, "I guess. Where are you going?" He didn't want to know _who_ it was, but _where_ we were going? As usual, Roger reminded me that he wasn't the average father.

"Uh, I think it's like some dining room thing. Nothing too fancy, just somewhere to work on the project."

Roger considered this for a few minutes, "Well, I guess. As long as it's alright with their parents. . . which reminds me, who's your partner?" Oops, spoke too soon.

"Uh, Carter Brown. We're. . . friends." I mumbled.

Roger eyed me suspiciously, "_Friends_? Really?"

I nodded, "Of course! I've only been in school for two days, Dad! Jeez!"

Roger shrugged defensively, "Hey, I'm just being a dad! Listen kiddo, I have to go. Mark's meeting me down at the court. We're going to play a few rounds then I'll come right back. Katie's going over to one of her friend's house for a sleepover. See ya!" I waved as he walked out to the van. Mark was his Tennis buddy.

Katie popped her head in the living room. She sat next to me and stayed quiet for a minute, watching T.V with me.

"So. . ." She started, "I heard you've got a _boyfriend_." I felt myself redden. Katie continued, "You know, I have one too. I met him at recess. His name's Samuel, but I call him Sammy. We're having our wedding tomorrow." She looked off in the distance with an over exaggerated dreamy look.

I rolled my eyes, "Well, I hope you two are very happy together. Now, I've got to go get ready. Are you ready for your sleepover?" She nodded.

I went upstairs to my room to change. I was about to take off my shirt when Katie came bursting into my room.

"What are you gonna do with your boyfriend?" Katie started to bounce on my bed.

"First, he's not my boyfriend. Second, we're going to do a project together. Now Miss. Nose-y, go wait for your ride."

Katie went downstairs. A few minutes later, she yelled up her good bye and I heard the door slam. Finally, I was alone.

I picked out an outfit that was both dressy and not sleazy. The three quarter sleeved shirt was very flowing, helping diminish my bust. My skirt was longer then any miniskirt, but. . . ruffled. I tried to curl my hair, but ended up with only a slight curl at the ends. I looked at the clock, and I only had five minutes until Carter was supposed to get here. I practically ran down the stairs in my anticipation. I sat on my couch, jittering.

I heard the doorbell go off and I practically jumped off the couch. My heart sped up at the sound. I walked to th door with deliberate slowness. I put on my black flats on the way to the door.

I opened the door slowly, making sure my arm didn't shake. There he was, Carter.

He wore the same things he had at school. He looked almost. . . nervous? We stared at each other for a long moment before he cleared his throat.

"Sarah, are you coming?" He said. I had almost forgotten the musical quality of his voice. But I could still hear the slightest hint off something rougher. I could only nod and smile to him. Carter started to turn and I closed the car behind me. I let out a small gasp at his car.

"Wow, _that's_ your car?" Was all I could say. I knew this car. The Impression, the new concept car from the Auto-shows in Geneva. I knew it was fitted with mechanical parts of a Mercedes CL63 AMG. It had strong hints of European styling of the early thirties.

Carter seemed relieved at the sight of the car, "Yeah. You like it?"

"Like it? I didn't think these were even out yet! Are you sure we should drive it?" I knew for a fact that these cars had a production rate of two or three a year, at a price of eighteen-hundred-thousand dollars. I giggled nervously.

"Oh, It's no problem. As long as you don't drip anything on it." Carter had an odd expression as he said this, as though he was measuring how much I liked the car. He seemed to snap out of it and said, "Well fair lady, your uh, chariot awaits." His grin was so big, I giggled again.

I went around the car slowly, taking it all in. It really was an amazing machine. Carter seemed to be concentrating on. . . his hand? I shook my head as I climbed in the passenger side. The chair let me sink in. I closed my eyes and sighed contently. Carter revved up the engine and we backed out of the driveway.

"So, what did your dad say about our project?" Carter asked me.

"Well, he didn't even ask who you were! He just wanted to know where we were going. He asked me later, but still. Sometimes, I really don't know what to do with him."

Carter nodded politely, "What about your mother?"

I gulped. I hadn't expected this topic to come up, "Oh well, she wasn't there. Actually she died a long time ago. I barely remember her."

"I'm sorry, I. . . I didn't know." Carter seemed distressed.

"It's fine. I can remember all the good things about her, and it doesn't hurt anymore." We sat in silence for a few minutes. I muttered to myself, "Way to kill the mood. . ."

carter chuckled quietly. I whipped around to face him. Had he heard me? He wasn't looking at me though. He was looking out the window at the boring landscape. The boring landscape that was going by _way_ to fast. . .

"How fast are you going?" I cried, gripping the seat. Carter glanced down and scowled.

The car gradually slowed down. Carter grinned and said, "Sorry about that. This car, I swear it wants to go fast. Sorry I scared you."

"It's okay. I think you just divided the trip in half though." I laughed.

A few minutes later we got to the dining room. It was. . . quaint. It had a very homey sense to it. It wasn't cheesy though. I immediately liked it. Cater walked around the car and opened my door for me. I smiled and he grinned back. Was that all I was capable of doing right now? That, and giggle.

The inside of the restaurant was even nicer. Everything was mad to look simplistic. The waitress showed us to our table. It was right next to a huge wall made solely of windows. The sun had just set, my favorite time of day beginning. That time where none of the street lights were on, but the sun had gone down. That timeless space that nothing changed. It wasn't day, but not quite night. Dusk.

I sighed without realizing it. Carter gave me a questioning look. I shrugged, "I love this time of day. I know it's weird, but dusk gives me a strange sense of calm. Safety." I felt embarrassed telling Carter this. Would he think I was weird for liking dusk so much? I had to laugh at myself. I was getting paranoid.

Carter looked thoughtful, "Yes, it is a nice time of day. What are you going to eat?" I started to look through the menu carefully. Carter skimmed over it, uninterested. I thought the food looked delicious, if a bit overpriced.

The waitress walked back a few minutes later, "Hello, I'm Diane. I'll be your server today. Are you ready to order?" She had a very distinct drawl in her voice, making her sound very. . . rural.

Carter nodded for me to start. I took one more look at the menu and said, "Well, I'm not quite sure. The pasta looks good, but so does the seafood special. . . What do you suggest?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Carter with the same look of deep concentration.

Diane bit her lip as she thought, "Well, the pasta's very good, but I think it's a bit too big for one person. Oh, you two could split it, if you want." She smiled brightly.

Carter grinned at me before he said, "I think that would be fine, thank you."

Diane nodded, "One pasta special, coming right up, son." She winked at us and left.

Carter and I made small talk until Diane came back. She brought us a large bowl brimming with stringy pasta and something that looked like spaghetti sauce. She gave us two forks and smiled brightly to us again before going to wait on another customer.

I started to eat the pasta. It was a bit overcooked, but very filling. Carter didn't touch it. Was it because we were sharing? Did he wish he had gotten his own? I felt bad, I had already almost eaten a whole half of the pasta. I looked up at Carter, who was grimacing.

"Are. . . are you alright?" At my voice he looked up quickly, his expression turning to something unfamiliar. It was something like wanting, longing.

"Sorry, this had garlic, and I'm ah, allergic." Carter mumbled. He thought of this for a second, then started laughing against his hand.

"Uh, am I missing something?" How was an allergy to garlic funny?

"No it's just. . . garlic. . . never mind, inside joke." Carter stopped laughing after a few minutes.

When I had eaten as much as I could, we started working on our project. Diane stopped by a few times to chat, but other then that we were undisturbed. It was probably the best time I had ever had. We talked about everything. _ Everything_. I don't think I had ever told anyone this much about myself. Usually, I was a closed person, but Carter seemed to bring something out of me. We probably spent hours there, doing nothing but asking each other questions.

Diane approached us hesitantly. She shifted around a bit before saying, "Um, I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you two to leave. We're closing up. Would you like your bill?" I was a bit flustered. How long had we been here? Carter nodded coolly. Diane blushed and walked quickly over to the cash. Carter payed – although I did try to pay, since I had been the only one to eat anything.

We sat in a comfortable silence as Carter drove me home. He walked me to the door silently too. I was getting nervous. This wasn't a date, so what was I supposed to say at the end of it?

I turned to him when we reached the porch. The light was on, so I knew Roger was home. Carter had a very concentrative expression.

_Tell him how you thought it went. Be honest. But not brutally honest._ The Carter voice I had heard a few times before sounded in my head.

"Um, so Carter. . ." Carter's head snapped up when I started speaking, making me even more flustered, "I had an awesome time. Thanks." I tried to smile in a way that was both nice and a little flirty. I failed. Miserably.

"Your are definitely welcome. I had a great time. Really. Maybe we should do this again some – " Carter was cut off by the door opening suddenly. Roger was there, an irked expression on his face.

"Sarah, you're very late. I thought you wouldn't be the whole night! You had me worried sick. . .Oh, who are you?" Roger turned to Carter. He wasn't angry, or even concerned. Just mildly curious.

Carter held out his hand, Roger taking it, "I'm Carter Brown, sir. It's very nice to meet you. Anyways," Carter turned back to me, "Sarah, I guess I'll see you at school. Bye." Carter glanced at Roger before taking my hand. His hand felt even cooler then usual in the night air. He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed it gently. I stood there stunned – along with my father – as I watched him walk to his car. I could see his frame slightly shake as he chuckled at me. Roger nudged me into the house. He seemed a bit shell shocked. I felt bad for him.

I said goodnight to my father, and want to bed quickly. I couldn't wait for school.

**I'd like to say, before I get flamed, that I know the garlic thing is a myth in the Twilight world. It was the first ingrediant to pop in my head, and then I had to use it :D**

**Love y'all,**

**Sarah The Confused**

**P.S Reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	7. Chapter 7: Explanations and Sawdust

**Author's N****ote: Here's the second chapter today :) This takes place a few weeks later, after Sarah and Carter have established a bit more relationship. We need to get this story rolling, dang it!**

**Disclaimer: Universe not mine, it's Stephenie Meyer's. OCs are mine.**

Chapter 7: Explanations and Sawdust

I looked up at Carter, frustrated and confused. What was he talking about? Did he really think I'd believe this? That I'd let him play these weird mind games with me? I was tired of all this. I wanted answers. Enough weird things had gone on with Carter, and I was going to find out. Today. Now.

Carter kept on shrugging off my questions. He never looked at me when he talked, and he kept glancing over at Penelope and Desmond, who were a table over from us.

I had just asked him for the third time why he never ate any of the bland sandwiches he always bought when I heard his fists hit the table. He had been running his hands through his hair for the past ten minutes. I looked down and I could see a slight indentation around where his hands were. What was that about? Had I aggravated him that much? It was strange to see Carter in something other then his supposedly eternal happy and spontaneous mood. I forced myself to look up at him. His eyes seemed darker then usual – was that possible? Maybe it was just the lighting. . .

The expression he wore made me freeze up. He wasn't angry, or even frustrated. He seemed almost hurt, pleading, as if I was torturing him. I didn't understand – it was he who had pounded the table, right? How was _I_ the bad guy?

"Sarah," Even in his condition, his voice still made me shiver, "Please listen. There's a lot I have to explain to you, but not here. I can't tell you a lot here, but what I do, you have to promise not to freak out or do anything stupid in reaction to. You got that?"

I could barely nod, his gaze was so intense! Carter looked around slowly, scanning the cafeteria. He placed his hand right next to mine on the table. Close enough to almost feel the strange coolness radiating from it. What was so secretive that he had to be cautious about? Carter drew in a long breath and put his features into a calm mask. His brow furrowed and he wore the same expression I had seen so many times. He was looking directly at me, his golden eyes blazing.

_Sarah?_

I started. That voice – Carter's voice. I looked at him. His lips hadn't moved, as far as I could tell. I shook my head slightly. Surely, that had only been my imagination. But it had sounded so real, and pretty loud.

_Sarah, can you hear me? Just nod your head. Please, don't be frightened._

I could feel my jaw slightly drop. This time I was certain. Carter hadn't spoken. I was hearing him in my head. Not knowing any other reaction, I barely raised my head up, but he seemed to understand.

_Good. Calm down, you're not insane. See, I'm about to wink, in about three seconds._

Carter, still staring at me, winked one eye.

_There see, neither one of us is crazy. Now please don't react. I have a very good explanation. I can't tell you here though. Are you willing to go for a walk with me? I don't think the school will miss us._

I saw the corner of Carter's lips twitch up into a small grin. I think I was in shock. What was this? Could I really hear Carter's thoughts? Were they really his thoughts? I wasn't convinced. Carter stood up and nodded his head towards the doors of the cafeteria. My legs brought me up before I told them to. Carter smirked at my slightly shocked expression.

Before I could really register where we were going or what was happening, I was outside. I breathed in the fresh air slowly, closing my eyes. Whatever was about to happen, I could feel – almost like a sixth sense – that this would be pivotal. I didn't know how, but I knew in the pit of my stomach, in my very soul, that whatever was about to happen, there was no going back after this.

Carter seemed to sense it too. As we started to walk on the twisty path in the small woods that surrounded the school, he walked taller, lengthened his stride and kept his head higher. I couldn't seem to breath right – not that I was at the point of caring. We were at about the farthest point on the small loop when Carter stopped. There was a large log on the side of the path that I'd never seen before. It was surprisingly dry when Carter pulled me down to sit with him on it. As soon as I was sitting though, Carter put his hands on his lap, playing with them.

It was a few moments of awkward silence before I coughed lightly and said, "Uh, so. . . what's going on?" I _meant_ to sound strong and assertive, but I ended up barely whispering.

Carter let out a long breath, "Well, you saw first hand what I can do. Or at least, part of it." He seemed to be hoping that I'd explain everything to myself instead of him doing it.

"Oh, you mean the Jedi Mind Trick, or whatever that was? What next, can you jump over high buildings in a single bound?" It seemed that all my confusion and frustration had turned to anger. I stood up and started to pace, not able to look at Carter.

I heard the breath he let out again. I felt bad, I didn't _want_ to hurt his feelings or make this any harder then it already was, "Hey, Carter. I'm sorry. I'll. . . I'll sit down, and you can explain this the best way you can."

I saw him nod, so I took my seat next to him. School was already started for the afternoon, I was sure. We spent a few minutes quietly while Carter organized his thoughts. I was just starting to fidget when he cleared his throat.

"Sarah," Carter looked me straight in the eye as he said every word, "Please don't interrupt. I can project my thoughts into other's minds. It's a. . . gift that I have." As much as I wanted to, I couldn't convince myself that he was lying. The look in his eyes, the force of his stare. Everything screamed at me to believe him.

My brain was processing things a lot faster then I thought possible. It felt like there was a lot he wasn't telling me, "Carter, when you said part of what you can do. . ." I trailed off.

Carter smiled, "Well, that's not the only thing I can do. I may not be able to leap over tall buildings, but I could run up them. I'm also really strong." He was mumbling now, trying to get out everything at once.

I felt a sharp pain in my hands, and looked down. I had been gripping the log so tightly, my palms were crushing the poor tree. I let go one finger at a time slowly.

"Carter, this is. . . this is crazy! Are you saying what I think you're saying? No, don't say anything. I. . . I've gone crazy. You're crazy. We've both gone insane. This can't be happening! I mean," I was hyperventilating by this point, "You can't put thoughts in my head. You can't scale buildings. I can hear you, but that's just because I'm crazy."

_It's true. I can talk to you through you're mind. I can run up buildings, or tear them down if I was so inclined. Sarah, please, I'm begging you._

He resorted to speech. "Sarah, don't leave. Stay with me. I can explain everything that's going on. You won't like it, but you need to know. You're not crazy, and neither am I. We're both sane, I promise."

I could feel my fingers clutching the wood again, but before I could let go, I felt the skin get pierced. I gasped and brought my hand to my face. I could see that it was barely the size of a paper cut. I looked up, but Carter wasn't there. I began to panic. Had I really been crazy? Was this cut the sign that I had woken up? If so, why was I still in the forest? My mind whirled as I thought.

_Sarah?_

I heard his voice in my head. It seemed very strained, lower then usual. I felt silly talking to thin air, "Um, yes?"

_Sarah, are you. . . are you okay?_

"Yes, where are you? Are you even here?"

_I just. . . I had to give you some space with that cut._

"And I thought you were the one who said not to leave." I smirked. I started to shake my hand to get rid of the pins and needles.

_Oh my God Sarah, please don't do that._ Carter's voice sounded panicked.

"What am I doing?" I froze my whole body.

_Please don't wave your hand. This is hard enough without you moving the scent! Not that you would have known, but. . . damn it! This shouldn't be this hard! Why do I have to be this way? Why do I have to be this thing – this killing machine?_

"C-C-Carter, I can still hear you." My voice was so soft, I was sure he wouldn't be able to hear me.

_What? Oh, I must have forgotten to break the connection. Sarah, please don't be frightened. I. . . this isn't what it looks like. I'm going to come out now, the smell isn't as bad. Don't move you're hand._

I just sat there while he slowly walked out of the trees directly in front of me. He had his hand's in front of him like I was the police. I didn't move, or flinch, or even scream. I just watched him as he stood in front of me, acting like he had been caught shoplifting or something.

"Why d-d-did you r-r-run?" My jaw was shaking as I spoke, making it almost impossible for even me to understand.

"Sarah, I'm about to be the most honest I've been in my entire life," His voice was soft and gentle, trying to lower the impact of what he was saying, "And after this, it's your decision whether you stay near me or not. I assure you. I won't blame you."

"Just spit it out, Carter." My voice was slowly coming back.

Carter nodded and let out a long breath before he started to explain, "Okay, so I can put my thoughts into other's minds. Usually I try to only. . . "talk" to one person, but I can "talk" to loads. About forty is the most I've tried to "talk" to at the same time, and I didn't have much trouble with that. I. . . Sarah," Carter looked like he was about to do something very unpleasant, "I was born October 11th, 1876. I'm one-hundred and thirty-two years old! I can deforest this entire area in under an hour! I've lived in almost every major city in North America, I've been to every European country. I've been through high school nine times, and college six. I'm a doctor, lawyer, actor, singer and artist. I can go from here to my house in less then a minute. I could crush this log with one hand. I can't eat. Well," Carter paused, thoughtful, "Actually, I can eat, but I'd just have to throw it up later, since I can't digest it. I don't sleep. I've read. . . a lot of books, trust me. I. . . Sarah, I'm not human."

I could only think of one thing to say. The only thing that my frozen mind could come up with, "show me." I squeaked.

Carter stared at me, not comprehending, "You. . . you want me to what?"

"Show me. Break the log. Run as fast as you can. Show me. . . show me that I'm not insane. Show me you're not lying." I couldn't believe the authority I spoke with, as if this person – Carter – couldn't kill me right now if he wanted to.

Carter was clearly nervous. I stood up – rather shakily – and backed away from the log. He watched me with a strange sadness.

_Sarah, you're in shock. Please don't freak out. I. . . I'm going to go break the log._

Carter's voice was heartbreaking in my head. I nodded towards him, and even managed a small smile. He took a second and waited for me to back up enough, then placed one hand on the log. I made sure not to blink, but I still missed the impact. One second there was a log, next there was a pile of sawdust. Carter stepped back and tried to gage my expression. I could feel my slacked jaw as I stared at the pile, but I couldn't close my mouth.

_I told you. Do you believe me now?_

We stared at each other for an unmeasurable moment as I soaked everything in. I finally found my voice to say, "So what, are you. . . are you like superman or something?"

Carter smiled, but it looked a bit too sad, "No, I'm definitely not super. Sarah, I think the word for my kind would be vampire."

I laughed. I actually laughed in his face, "That's stupid, Carter! I mean. . . you're not. . . They don't. . . vampires drink blood! They. . ." I thought back to the few vampire movies I had ever seen, "They sleep in coffins and don't they burn in the sunlight? And they have really greasy hair! Or, maybe that's just Dracula. . ." I was rambling at that point. Carter had been trying not to laugh I huffed at him.

"Well, that's it then. If I'm hygienic, I can't be a vampire, can I?" Carter was still chuckling, "Sorry, Sarah. But you see, I haven't heard anything the least bit funny about vampires in. . . quite a long time. Here, let me explain the myths.

"Vampires – or at least the regular ones – do drink human blood. Fortunately for you, Sarah, I'm a freak of the freaks. I drink animal blood instead. It's not at all like the real thing, but I survive.

"As for coffins, well, sometimes I really wish I could be in one!" Carter laughed darkly, "but no, I can't sleep at all.

"Well, one out of three ain't bad. I _can't_ go in the sunlight, but I won't burn. It's really something you have to see to believe." Carter had my grin in place.

_Please believe me._ Carter thought to me, _I need for you to believe me._

"I. . . I don't understand." My lips barely moved.

Carter nodded, "That's perfectly reasonable. I did give you a lot to think about. Probably too much, in fact. I –"

"No," I interrupted him, "I don't mean all of the. . . information. I mean the last part. Why do you need so desperately for me to believe you?" I wasn't sure if I wanted an answer.

Carter looked like he was the one who didn't understand, "wait, are you telling me that after everything I told you, the one thing you don't understand is why I, a freaking _vampire_, need you to be with me?"

"Well, I'm not even trying to focus on that part right now. I'm just trying to work out little bits."

Carter just shook his head, then answered, "Sarah, I've spent the past hundred and thirty-two years of my life surviving. I've gotten countless jobs and spent so many years in college. I've spent all of my time trying to get _there_. Going for some none existent goal. That, if I discovered a new element, or found the cure for the common cold, then suddenly, I'll be happy. But Sarah," Carter was practically pleading with me, "I'm _tired_. I don't _want_ to just survive. I want to. . . _want_ to live. I want to feel _something_. I don't want to be hollow anymore," Carter seemed to be visibly shaking, "And you Sarah. What are you supposed to be? Merely a blip in my eternal history? Yet, this is the most human I've ever felt in more then a century! This feeling, it's addicting. I need to feel whole like this. Right now, I feel like I matter. Like I'm needed. And you, Sarah Hogan, human teenager, you hold that power. What feels like my very existence rests with you. It's hard to believe, a vampire dependent on a human." Carter chuckled darkly.

"I. . . thank you, Carter. I know that it must be so hard for you to tell me all of this. I can't even imagine what you're thinking. I just have one request."

Carter didn't even hesitate, "Anything."

"I need a little time, just to sort all of this out. I really can't process all of this right now. Just a bit of space."

Carter nodded, "That's defiantly. . . much less then I would have asked if I were in your shoes. Of course, have as much time as you need, I won't rush you." Carter grinned hugely, as though I had just given him some huge reward. He took one tentative step forward then, slowly, wrapped his arms around me. He held me for one long, wonderful moment. It was sweet and felt so_ right_.

_Thank you. Thank you so much._ Carter thought.

"Wait, one more thing. . ." I felt silly saying this.

"Yes?" Carter answered.

"About your siblings. . . are they, you know. . . like you?" I could feel my face redden.

"Sarah, what do _you_ think?" Carter let out a loud musical laugh. He kept on laughing as we started walking to the parking lot, then to his car. It wasn't until he stopped in front of my house that he really subsided. I made to get out, but he took my hand. I still wasn't used to the temperature of his skin.

"I'll see you, later." He bent down and kissed my hand softly. I felt my jaw drop, and Carter just grinned.

I got out of the car shakily. Carter waited until I got to the door. I waved to him as he drove off.

It wasn't until I got to my room, until I got to my bed that I collapsed. I didn't cry or sob. I just shut down. There was only one thing I was sure about it seemed, in the whole world.

I had _a lot_ to think about.

**There you go, hope you liked! Review, if you please. I'd love to see what people would like out of this story. I have a lot of plot twists and such, and I'd like to see what you all think!**

**Love y'all**

**Sarah The Confused**


	8. Chapter 8: Called Upon

**Author's Note: Here, hope you enjoy :) I'll hopefully be updating sooner now, but we'll see. This chapter is dedicated to my own English teacher. You'll see why.**

**Disclaimer: Universe not mine, Original Characters are :)**

Henry was the first to notice something was different. I didn't really know many people still at the school, so when Carter suddenly stopped interacting with me, Henry and Erin knew something was up. Carter still stuck close to me all through the school, but he never pushed me. We didn't talk much. Our lunches were full of comfortable and awkward silences mixed together. Henry cornered me before my first class in the afternoon – English.

"What's going on with you and Brown?" Henry asked me. He seemed genuinely concerned.

"Oh, we're just. . . I mean I asked for some space for a while." I didn't know how much I could tell him. I trusted Henry quite a bit, but definitely not _that_ much.

Henry cocked his head to the side, "Really? So he finally told you?" He chuckled quietly.

"Told me what?" I asked, confused.

"Well, that he's in love with you." Henry answered bluntly. There was a loud thunk behind me. I whirled around.

Carter was holding his head, just inside the class. He had hit the doorway hard, probably leaving a dent. He looked terrified, as if at gunpoint. I wondered briefly how he could've hit his head when he was a. . . _vampire_.

Then it dawned on me. Carter, with his enhanced hearing, had heard Henry. He stared at me with such heartbreaking fear that I had to look away. Henry looked embarrassed, but he had nothing on me. I felt myself heat up.

The bell rang for class to begin and I took my seat. Carter was still at the doorway, paralyzed. The other students moved around him quickly, trying to avoid him. It wasn't until the teacher, Mr. Hong came in with a doughnut in hand that he walked over to his seat. Conveniently placed _right next to mine_. Great. Just flipping fantastic.

I sat stock still for almost ten minutes, just thinking. Could Carter really love me? I had just gotten use to him _liking_ me.

Did I love him? Really? I knew I was immensely attracted to him. It was hard not to when you had a one hundred and thirty-two year old vampire practically stalking you for almost a month. He had certainly been a loyal friend to me. I was obsessed with all of his small quirks. He shook his hair a lot, and squinted his eyes when he "talked" to me. He always held back from me though, never touching me more then necessary after the whole hands-in-hair incident. But, he still seemed to find ways of making the most of practically nothing. The way he would take my hair and twirl it when he thought I wasn't looking, or move his arm to just millimeters away from me at lunch. He'd watch me eat everyday, and once he'd even fed me, much to my embarrassment and excitement.

But just because I couldn't find something I didn't like, didn't mean I loved him, right? My head hurt. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I had asked for space, and for the last two weeks, he had given it to me. I had worked it out, and decided that yes, he was a vampire – I felt silly even thinking the word – but that was just one part of him. He was a caring guy who enjoyed my company, and I his.

If he loved me, would he be different? If we went out, would I ruin all this? I needed to have him near, to talk to him and tease him. What if it didn't work out? He was becoming part of my very make up. How could I loss him? I guess that answered it. I did love him, because I wanted more then anything for us to be together, whether as a couple or as friends. My happiness was almost solely dependent on his.

"Miss. Hogan, could you please come to the front of the class?" Mr. Hong asked. I looked up in alarm. We were supposed to be looking over our songs we had picked out and analyze them. Carter let out a low laugh that I was sure only I could hear. I got up a little shakily.

_Don't worry, you're just supposed to read your poem or song to the class. You probably didn't hear him explain. _I could hear the sly smile in his voice. I smiled weakly at him as I past.

I turned to the class. Since when had there been so many of them? My mind seemed to go blank as I looked around the room. I stared at Carter for a few seconds before turning to Mr. Hong.

"Alright Sarah, what are you going to be reading?" Mr. Hong wasn't looking at me, but at his clipboard as he wrote down some notes.

It took me a few tries to speak. I saw henry give me a small smile, "I'm reading Before It's Too Late by the Goo Goo Dolls." A few people nodded at my song choice.

"Alright, start when you're ready."

My mind was completely empty. Nothing came to me for what felt like hours. The song was printed on my sheet, but it might as well have been Portuguese for all I got out of it.

_Need a bit of help?_ Carter thought. I lifted my head as if to start then slightly lowered it as a nod. _Alright, repeat after me._

_I wonder through fiction to look for the truth  
Buried beneath all the lies  
and I stood at a distance  
To feel who you are  
Hiding myself in your eyes _

I repeated everything, only looking at carter. He was smiling as he sung the song in my head. I hadn't thought of this before, but this song seemed to mirror my relationship with Carter. Creepy.

_and hold on before it's too late  
Until we leave this behind  
Don't fall just be who you are  
It's all that we need in our lives _

_and the risk that might break you  
Is the one that would save  
A life you don't live is still lost  
So stand on the edge with me  
Hold back your fear and see  
Nothing is real till it's gone_

My heart thudded loudly. I wondered if Carter could hear it. I read the whole song like this, listening to Carter and repeating. Carter seemed to be singing it to me, not just at me. I felt a bit sad when it ended.

_It's all that we need in our lives  
It's all that I need in my life _

And that was true. This was all that I needed. Carter.

**So that's that, hope you enjoyed :)  
Also, does anyone know if there are any other stories like this one on ? I'd love to see them if there are.**

So, there's this thing called bribery. . . lol Review review review, and I'll give you. . . hmmm. . . actually, I'll let you pick! What do you want? I'm excited to find out, heh!

**BTW, I deleted all of my emails for a really stupid reason (I guess I was overtired that night) so I don't have any of the links to reply to the reviews I've already gotten! arg, I kept on meaning to reply. . . So, as of now, I will be replying EVER SINGLE REVIEW. Don't belive me? Well, there's only one way to find out! -wiggles eyebrows-  
**

**Love y'all!**

**Sarah the Confused**


	9. Chapter 9: Subtleties

**Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! More at bottom.**

**Disclaimer: Universe not mine, Stephenie Meyer's. Original Character's are mine.**

Chapter 9: Subtleties

It was exactly forty days since I had first met Carter – not that I was counting – when I decided to confront him. It was after school, and he was at my locker. He always waited there and would drive me home. I had never seen his Impression since the dinner though. Instead, he drove an Audi A6, which was a bit more appropriate for school.

I waited until Henry and the other students who had lockers near me had left before I turned to Carter. He looked disinterested, probably thinking of the half conversations we would be having if I didn't step up and talk to him. My pulse sped up as I thought of how crazy all of this would be. Carter looked at me more intently. I guess that answered my question about hearing my heart.

I nodded towards the door as I closed my locker. He gave me a small smile as we got outside. He had become more timid since my song reciting. It was cute, seeing him struggle between being his usual friendly self and his cautious self. But I did miss the regular – or as regular as he got – Carter.

Instead of the car, I led him to the forest we had gone to when I had first heard all of this. . . information. Carter gave me a questioning look but I shrugged him off. He followed silently until we were well into the path and far from anyone listening. I stopped right next to the big pile of sawdust that was still there, although much less noticeable from the weather.

I turned slowly to face Carter. He was standing a few feet back with his hands in his pockets. He looked warily at me. I smiled at him, trying to figure out how to best talk to him. I had recited a little speech this morning and had even written something on my hand. I looked down and had to laugh at myself. All that was legible was 'vamp', 'not just' and 'doesn't matter'. This wasn't going to go well.

So, having nothing to go on and a timid vampire on my hands, I just blurted out the only thing I could thing. The only thing that I had thought about for the past weeks.

"So, you're a vampire?"

Carter looked at me like I had grown another head. I felt my face redden. Maybe I should be a bit more tactful. He was probably expecting something a bit more. . . subtle.

"I mean, you are? Seriously?" I didn't know what I was hoping he would say.

Carter looked down at his feet for a minute before meeting my eye. He nodded slowly as he spoke, "Yes, I am. I can only tell you the truth, Sarah. You trust me." The last part sounded like a question.

"I do. I trust you. It's been a long few weeks, but yes. I trust you completely. Maybe. . . maybe more then I should." I mumbled as softly as possible. But of course, He heard.

"Please don't say that. I will never do anything to hurt you. I promise." His eyes burned gold. My breath caught for a moment at how much he believed his statement.

"Well. . . well that's good. Wait, I have a question." This had been bugging me for the past few weeks.

"It's not like I'm going anywhere, shoot." Carter grinned.

"Can all. . . _vampires_ do what you do? The super strength and speed and 'talking' to people?"

Carter laughed, "You make it seem like a dirty word. Vampire. Plain and simple." I rolled my eyes, only making his grin grow, "All vampires have the basic enhanced senses and immortality. Then you have some that have more. Some with gifts. None are the exact same because no one is the same person, and that's where our gifts come from. Our human lives. My gift is because as a human, I had a way of convincing people that my ideas were their own. It's not a very subtle gift, but then again, neither am I." Carter wiggled his eyebrows playfully. I giggled.

I thought about what he had said, "Wait, you were human?"

Carter gave me a funny look, "Of course! Haven't you even seen a vampire movie? You get bitten, Sarah." I blushed. Right, fangs. . .

"Where are they then?" I said before I could stop.

"Where are what?"

"Your. . . your fangs." I whispered as softly as possible.

Carter let out a loud laugh, "Trust me Sarah, these do the job." His smile grew and I saw hid perfect teeth. There was a glint to them. It was strange to see this on Carter's face. He looked. . . dangerous. His eyes held no hint of playfulness as he stalked forwards.

I stood stalk still as he came within a foot of me, leaning into my face. His menacing smile grew, "Are you afraid?"

His breath was in my face and I had to close my eyes. Was this just Carter, or did all vampires have this sweet smell? I opened my eyes to taunting and humor in Carter's.

"You wish." He chuckled. I pushed on his shirt but he didn't seem to notice. I pushed a bit harder. Still nothing.

"Uh, Carter?" I looked down at my hands. His gaze followed.

"Oh. Oops." Carter grinned and backed up, "I guess I'll have to get use to that."

"To what?"

"Human touch. I can't really feel when you're pushing me." He explained.

We started our way back to his car. Carter put his hands back in his pockets. I played with the strap on my backpack. Then I remembered, "You didn't tell me. . . what do other vampires have as gifts?"

Carter answered, "I don't know many others, Sarah. As far as we know, we're the only human friendly ones around," I gulped. I had forgotten the diet, "None of the regulars stay for long though. Penelope has another gift, but I think she should get to tell you herself. Desmond doesn't have a gift like mine, but he's the nicest guy you'll ever meet."

We walked in silence for a few more minutes. It wasn't until we were almost at my house until I asked, "Do you think there might be others like you? You know, the human friendly kind?" I laughed at the words.

Carter shrugged, "Maybe. Nowhere near the east coast though, I'm sure. Penelope's searched a few times, but we haven't found anyone."

For the rest of the day, I kept wondering about the whole vampire world. Carter and his family couldn't be the only good vampires. There had to be more out there.

_**SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS FOR BREAKING DAWN**_

**Okay, so don't read if you haven't read breaking Dawn! So, I'm not going to say my whole opinion, and if you review, please don't talk about the book in case other readers haven't read it yet (Though I'm open to PMs :D) Anyways, so it would seem that 1. Humans can get pregnant from vampires. Soooo. . . . I really don't think that's where I'm going with my story (no offense to SM's choice). 2. She wrote a flippin' index of all the vampires! Without the Browns, so the Cullens and the Browns now can't meet (if I'm staying with the right time and everything)until after Breaking Dawn ended.**

**What are my options? Well, I can write it as if Breaking Dawn never happened, or write it after Breaking Dawn. I'd love your opinion because I really don't know!**

**_END OF SPOILERS_**

**Alright, Review if you please :)**

**Love y'all**

**Sarah the Confused**


	10. Chapter 10: A Little Talk

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I'd like to say THANK YOU to my wonderful reviewers: you guys are awesome. Seriously! I really appreciate the time and thought you took to write something to me, it brightens my day :) So here you go!**

**See previous chapters for disclaimer.**

Chapter 10: A Little Talk

On Saturday I went to Carter's house after school. I still hadn't really gotten to know his family, so today we were spending the day together. His house was beautiful. It was large and made with huge stones. It looked to have been made around the early eighteen hundreds.

I had told Roger I was with Penelope studying science. What I was really doing was watching old movies in their living room, while Desmond grilled my lunch outside on the patio. The glass door was wide open, so I got to overhear the three vampires argue over my lunch.

"It's supposed to go on low, and you cook it for longer," Penelope was trying to explain, "That way, it's cooked throughly."

Carter shook his head, "No, you put it on high for just a little while. It needs to be hot, not warm. The heat gets rid of bacteria."

Poor Desmond was in the middle of the feuding siblings. After his fourth unsuccessful attempt at cooking the burgers, he gave up, "Fine! If you two are so smart, you do it! This thing is annoying me!" With that he stalked over to the couch and sat next to me.

"Remind me never to feed you. We can all go out to eat when you come over." Desmond mumbled. I shook my head at him.

Desmond and Penelope had acted really well with me knowing their secret. I suspected Carter had had a long conversation with them before. Penelope and I still didn't really know each other, but Desmond acted like we were life long friends. I had learned that the Browns – in fact all vampires – had amazing hearing, but it was still hard to get use to the fact that as quiet as I whispered, everyone would still hear everything I said.

Desmond and I watched the movie for a while longer, but forgot about it after Carter and Penelope started to fight in earnest.

"And how, may I ask, do you intend to cook without the burner on?" Carter asked pointedly at Penelope.

Penelope turned to the barbecue and yelled, "Carter Brown! You turned it off on purpose!" She pushed Carter roughly, making him take a few steps back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Pen! You just forgot is all." Carter had a huge smug smile as he leered at Penelope. Desmond and I were trying not to laugh unsuccessfully, but Carter and Penelope didn't take any notice.

"When are you going to get it through your thick skull that _I can tell when you lie_?" Penelope would have been red in the face from yelling if she could.

I turned to Desmond, "So is that Penelope's gift?"

Desmond opened his mouth to answer, but Penelope beat him, "Yes, Sarah. I have a built in lie detector. It's more of a -" Penelope stopped and smacked Carter's hand from the grill, which he had been about to turn up the heat with, "It's more of a sense then anything else. After all, most things aren't complete lies or completely true."

I soaked up the information, "Are some things easier to detect then others?"

Penelope nodded, "Direct questions are fine, but I have to say that feelings are a headache to listen to." Penelope shuddered slightly.

Carter put a finger to his lips and crept to the barbecue slowly. Penelope rolled her eyes at him and the next thing I saw, Carter was on the floor with Penelope standing over him. They both had very intense expressions for a few seconds, then they both burst into fits of laughter.

Desmond shrugged at me, "They do this all the time. They rifle each other up until one of them explodes. Then they act like it was the funniest thing on earth."

We watched for ten more minutes as Carter and Penelope exchanged teasing. My personal favorite was when they started to stick their tounges out at each other. Finally, I was too hungry to enjoy the entertainment. I sat up straight and turned to the television, Desmond watching me now.

"Carter?" I asked in as sweet a whisper I could muster.

Carter was next to me in less then a second, his spat with Penelope abandoned, "Yes? What's wrong?"

I shook my head theatrically, "I just. . . I just don't understand something." I put in a sniffle, just for good measure.

Carter looked half way between comforting and impatient, "And that would be. . .?"

I looked him straight in the eye, having no clue how I was keeping a straight face, "I don't understand why in the world a group of highly skilled and incredibly intelligent vampires like you wouldn't let the only one in the house who has the slightest inclination or knowledge of food and cooking in general cook the food."

Carter's face was blank for a few seconds. Penelope and Desmond were laughing at him. A slow grin formed on his face. In one swift motion Carter picked me up and brought me out the door. I shrieked, only making them all laugh harder. He set me down in front of the burners carefully. He was always careful with me, and usually incredibly polite. _Usually_.

Carter stayed standing with me as I grilled the burgers. His hand lingered on my back, giving me goosebumps. Not that I minded.

A few minutes later, I had two burgers and a plate of veggies and dip. Carter and I joined the others on the extra long sofa. I felt odd being the only one eating.

"Would any of you like some?" I asked, holding out the food.

Penelope shook her head. Desmond eyed Carter. Carter had the expression he usually did when he 'spoke' to someone. Desmond sighed and nodded.

Carter grinned, "I'd. . . love to try some, Sarah." And with that, He took a carrot, dipped in the ranch sauce, and plopped it in his mouth. He quickly swallowed before turning to Desmond, "And what about you, Des?"

Desmond looked nervously at the vegetable tray before grabbing some cauliflower and shoving it in his mouth. The look he had was the funniest and saddest thing I had ever seen. He gulped a few timed, trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Carter laughed loudly, "Maybe you need some water to wash it down, Des!"

Desmond gave Carter a death glare that rivaled even Penelope's usual scowl.

"I'm really sorry Desmond! It's easy to forget you don't eat what I eat! I feel really bad!" I felt horrible for making Desmond eat.

Desmond shook his head, "It's alright, _you_ didn't blackmail me into it. Unlike_ someone_ I know."

I turned to Carter, who had just stopped chuckling, "You! Why would you do that?"

Carter shrugged, "What, I did it too. It was just a little dare, Sarah."

I frowned, "It still wasn't very nice."

Penelope giggled, "Maybe he should apologize."

I nodded. Carter rolled his eyes, "You can't be serious. It was just a dare!"

"Oh, I am a hundred percent serious. Carter, apologize." I tried to glared at him. It didn't work, but he still turned to Desmond.

"Desmond Timothy Brown, will you ever forgive me for the terrible situation I put you through? I promise never to even think about doing this grievous mistake ever again." I had no clue how Carter kept a straight face.

Desmond raised his eyebrows, "Um, yeah, sure. Whatever Carter."

Carter stood up, "What a glorious day in history! Sarah, quickly!" I shook my head furiously at his antics. Carter took my hands and brought me to my feet. He started to waltz with me around the living room. One hand on my hip and the other hand in mine. He hummed something that seemed slightly too lively to really be waltzing music. I giggled as he started to spin me around him. As his humming slowed, he dipped me until I could feel my hair touch the floor. His grin was absolutely _huge_.

We all watched the rest of the movie without another incident. Carter never stopped smiling like an idiot. When the movie was over and I had eaten my fill, we started actually doing homework. About halfway through my science, Penelope asked Carter to go and find some correction fluid. Carter couldn't find any, and neither could Desmond when he looked. Penelope thought for a while before asking Carter to go into town to get some. He refused, and Penelope turned to me, her eyes big and needing.

I felt silly trying to convince Carter into going, but I tried my best, "Carter, I'm sure it wouldn't be too much trouble, would it?"

Carter shrugged, "Well, no, but I'd much rather be here with you." His smile was so warm, I lost my train of thought for a moment. Penelope bumped me gently to focus.

"but I thought you could run fast. Couldn't you just run there and run back? I'm sure it wouldn't take that long." I tried to bat my lashes. Carter thought for a minute, his gaze shifting from me to Penelope and back. Finally he sighed and nodded. I rolled my eyes at his theatrics.

Once Carter was out the door, Penelope put a finger to her lips and got up quietly. She listened for Carter to leave before reaching down and carrying me in her arms in one swift motion. Before I could react, we were in what I think was her bedroom. There was a large overstuffed couch, and a huge television with rows and rows of dvds. The walls were light blue and the floor was light hard wood flooring. Penelope set me down and called Desmond up.

When Desmond arrived she asked, "Desmond, could you go check on Carter? I don't want him to go and do something stupid to impress Sarah. You know how he is."

Desmond shrugged and waved good bye to us. I heard the front door a minutes later.

I walked further into the room, over near a door that led out to a large balcony. The view was beautiful; trees stretched for miles, the small town of Pictou, with it's crisscrossed roads and tiny shops. I could even see a small bit of the harbor, which was unusually busy today.

Penelope was suddenly next to me in one of her vampire-super-speed moves. She smiled sweetly at me, her face breathtaking.

"So, Sarah. Now that it's just us girls, I thought we might have a little talk." Her smile was now blinding.

I nodded slowly. This didn't look good. I remembered Carter saying something about Penelope being overly protective of him.

Penelope directed me over to the couch. I sat almost at the edge, my thoughts jumbled. _And she'll know if I lie. _ I thought, mentally cringing.

"Ah, there. I think that you should know something about Carter." There was something in her eyes that unsettled me, as if she was putting me where I belonged. Then again, she _was_ Carter's sister. She was probably just trying to protect him.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure he could tell me when he fells ready." I felt uncomfortable talking about him, he was my closest. . . friend, I guess you'd call it.

Penelope looked impatient, "Well, this isn't something he'd really tell you. Carter can be a bit. . . delusional."

"I don't follow." Yes, I _definitely_ didn't like where this was going.

"Well, Carter sometimes gets. . . bored. So, he decides to go and do something drastic. Sometimes it's skydiving with no parachute, sometimes it's trying to swim to the Titanic. Once, he went down to the antarctic to try and capture a giant squid. He's really full of them." Penelope rolled her eyes.

I stared at her for a long moment. What exactly was I supposed to say to this? "Wait, what? How does this have anything to do with-"

Penelope cut me off, "You're his latest distraction. He's recently become enthralled by humans. You're the first one he's taken a liking to. And, don't get me wrong. You're a lovely girl. I'd hate to see something bad happen to you."

I gulped, "What, are you saying Carter's playing me?" I couldn't see how that was possible. Carter had been a great friend to me for the past few months. Was all of that just a ruse so that he could have something to entertain himself with? I knew I should be feeling mad at Carter, but all I could feel was hope that Penelope wasn't right.

"Oh gosh no!" My heart soared, "Carter's just got it into his head that he loves you. And I'm sorry to say this, Sarah, but he doesn't. He has the same excited feeling for you that he has for any of his other. . . pastimes. Don't take it the wrong way though. He really is convinced he loves you. Then again," She laughed lightly, "He doesn't even know what love is!"

"So. . . so what now?" I whispered, not trusting myself to say anything that could result in tears.

"I'd say not to talk with him about it. He really doesn't know what he's doing to you. Just play along for now, but if I were you, don't get too comfortable. He'll get bored soon enough, and then we'll probably have to move. Make sure we aren't the only friends you have. We don't want anything to happen to you." Penelope smiled sadly at me.

I nodded slowly, "I'm sorry. Trust me when I say I only want what's best for Carter. It's hard to believe he'd do anything to hurt me, but then again, I suppose he wouldn't know that he was causing me any pain. This must be hard for you, having to deal with that, without really being able to confront him." It was nice of Penelope to warn me, even though it really did burst my happy little world I'd been living in since knowing Carter.

Penelope's face turned to confusion. She looked as though she wanted to. . . back down? But that didn't really make sense. As fast as it appeared, it was replaced by her sad smile, which now seemed a bit odd on her face, "Thank you, Sarah. I'm sure everything will be alright in the end." She looked a bit rueful.

We went back downstairs, working some more on our homework. About ten minutes later, My cell phone rang. I had no clue who it was, almost no one knew my number.

"Hello?"

"Sarah?" I couldn't mistake his wonderful musical voice. I would have felt elated, if it hadn't been for the weight of Penelope's words on me.

"Yes, Carter?" Why hadn't he used the home phone?

"Listen, I need you to ask Penelope something." I wondered if Penelope could hear him on the phone.

"Why not just call her yourself?"

"Because she probably wouldn't even pick up the phone." carter's tone was surely.

"Um, alright. What do you want me to ask?"

"Could you please ask my _darling_ sister if she knows why _none_ of the stores in this town have a _single container of correcting fluid_?" Carter was fuming. I could hear Desmond asking someone – probably a store clerk – why there wasn't any.

I turned to Penelope, "Um, Carter says to ask you-"

She cut me off, "I heard. Tell him I don't know what he's talking about."

"I'm guessing you heard that too?" I asked Carter.

"Yes. And Pen, the store owner told us that their was a vivid red haired girl in here yesterday that bought all of their correction tape."

Penelope shrugged it off and said, "Fine then, just come home. I don't need it anymore." she smirked.

Carter was silent for a few moments, "Don't need it anymore. . .? Of all the – fine. I'll see you _soon_ Sarah. I promise." Carter's voice was intense.

"Okay, see you." I closed my phone. Penelope was back at her homework, so I decided not to bother her. She had already been very kind to me, no matter how much I wish she hadn't been.

About three minutes later, the door banged open and Carter was beside me, holding me close. I gasped, surprised by his affection. Desmond came in seconds later, with a very disappointed look directed at Penelope.

Carter stayed within touching distance for the rest of the day. When we had all finished my homework it was dark out, which I took as my queue to leave. Carter drove me home holding my hand in his, never breaking contact for more then a few seconds.

Did he know what Penelope had told me? Was he trying to prove she was wrong without bringing it up? Was I just being paranoid? It seemed like I was most of the time.

We pulled up to my house. Carter led me to the door, where we stood for a few minutes, the usual teenage awkwardness surrounding us. Carter's gaze was so soft, it was hard to remember how to do anything but stand still like an idiot. He cupped my head with his hand and brought his head closer. . . closer. . .

Carter kissed my forehead lightly before squeezing my hand one more time with his. He walked back to his car without another word. I stood stunned as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. He looked over at me and even through the window of his car I could see him wink at me. He drove off. I pressed my hand to my forehead gently. It was slightly colder where he had kissed me. He kissed me. I sighed and went inside unsteadily.

Roger was watching something on television – I was too tired to notice what. I felt drained from the long day.

Roger looked up smiling, "Hey Hun, how was your day?"

I smiled back sleepily, "Great. Very. . . educational."

Roger nodded and turned back to the television. Katie was already in bed. I wondered randomly if she had 'married' her boyfriend, Samuel yet. If only Carter and I could be that simple.

I crawled into bed, entirely and very throughly exhausted.

**Author's Note: Alright, more plot in this chapter then usual, and more character building :) I'd really love to know what you all think, this might be my favorite chapter so far. . . I'm making sure to reply to every review, so make sure to!  
**

**Love to everyone!**

**Sarah the Confused**

**P.S Vote on the poll, if you please :)**

_**P.P.S SPOILERNESS SPOILERNESS SPOILERNESS SPOILERNESS SPOILERNESS FOR BREAKING DAWN**_

__  
So yes, Penelope's power IS the same as 'Little' Maggie's, but I can assure you that I didn't copy :)


	11. Chapter 11: Broken Things

**Author's Note: Hey guys! The usual: Yay reviews!! Hope you like, review if you want. . . I wrote this late at night because I couldn't get it out of my head. **

**Disclaimer in earlier chapters.**

Chapter 11: Broken Things

"Carter, I think we should talk."

Carter looked over at me, slightly nervous, "Nothing good ever comes from that sentence." I rolled my eyes. Drama queen.

"Whatever. Just finish up your homework; I want to have your full attention." Carter nodded and started writing much faster then he had been. That might explain how he always finished his homework right when I did. The cheater.

Carter put his stuff down on the coffee table. We were at my house today after school. Katie was upstairs in her room playing in her own little world. Roger was doing overtime at work. Carter turned to fully face me, his eyes were especially warm. He had been unbelievably sweet to me since the barbecue, making sure that I was always happy and entertained. Or at least, what he thought was entertained. I smiled at the memories.

This made it all the more hard to talk to him. I knew Penelope was probably right, but it felt wrong to not talk to Carter about such an important issue. He really was the closest thing to me, other then my family. I wanted to set things straight, and if that meant some awkwardness and going against Penelope, I would do that. Carter meant too much to me to be scared of him becoming 'disinterested' anytime.

Carter raised his eyebrows, trying to get me to start. I looked in his eyes, trying to will my self-consciousness away.

"So. . . so I talked to Penelope when you were gone for the correction fluid the day of the barbecue." Way to be subtle, Sarah.

"Uh huh. What did my sister have to say?" Carter didn't seem to like Penelope very much right now. I wondered why.

"Well she told me about how you get. . . bored from your life as a. . . you know, _vampire_." I still couldn't peg such a nice and generally happy person to be undead. He just had so much _life_ in him!

Carter gave me an odd look but didn't say anything. I took a long breath before continuing, "So, Penelope told me about some of the extreme stunts you do to entertain yourself. So she told me that. . ." I found my throat constricting, making it hard to breath, let alone talk. I suppressed my emotions throughly before I continued. And for some reason – probably just me being a teenager with strange mood swings – I felt a huge rush of anger. Not quite at Carter, or Penelope. Not even myself. I just felt angry at the whole situation. It was too much, I felt as my words tumbled out.

"She told me that you had a new obsession with humans, and that I. . . I was your newest. . . distraction. She said that you were only interested in me at all because I was something. . . new. I was something you had never experienced before. She said you did this all the time, and it was only a matter of time before you left me. And," My voice raised as I got more and more worked up, My words going faster then my brain, everything rushed out at once, "And you. . . you won't feel bad at all, will you_?_ Because really, what am _I_? I'm just this stupid little _human_ that you can play around with, giving her all of these ideas about where she'll go. I'm like your _pet_. What, you think I'll stand by while you try and get away with this without feeling even a _smidgen_ of guilt? 'Oh well, I gave her the best few months of her life, I made her feel _nice_ and _pretty_ and _special_, I made her start to really like herself. But now I'm _bored_. I guess I'll go cliff dive the grand flipping canyon now. What was her name again? It doesn't matter, it's not like I _ripped out her heart_ or anything. It's not like she spends all of her mornings doodling 'Sarah Brown' all over her notebook. What does _she_ matter?' Well Carter Brown, I hope you're _pleased_. I hope you're happy with what you've done to me, or at least, what you're going to do. But maybe next time you think you might want to try. . . _friending _an innocent human, you'll remember me. You may not remember my name, or what I look like, but remember _this_. Remember how _this_ feels. Remember how you will _break_ me, and for goodness sake, remember to _never_ do it again."

I don't know how I was standing up but I was shaking over Carter. My jaw was vibrating, my hands were clenched with anger. All I could feel, all I could think, was making something else know how much I hurt. Before I had started speaking, I hadn't even _known _how much I felt. I had thought I was just nervous about talking to him, but really I had been upset with him leaving. But I couldn't make myself take it back. If Carter thought he would be handed a get-out-of-jail-free card and just whisk off, he had another thing coming. _Well, at least I'm not boring him anymore. _I thought ruefully.

Every muscle in my body was tensed – muscles I didn't even know I had. I concentrated on relaxing every part of me slowly, one spot at a time. When only my brain was under the pressure, I moved to the dining room out of sheer force of will. I stumbled into the dining room. I couldn't really see anything, I just stumbled over the clutter. My brain felt oddly numb now that I had let all the emotions out. I put my head on the cool wood, but that wasn't enough. I banged my head a few times softly, just to try and distract myself. I shuddered at the word, now it had a much deeper meaning. _Distraction_. _Me_.

I heard the soft thuds going down the stairs. _Katie_. I groaned. How much had she heard? I really hadn't been paying attention to my volume. It was quiet for a minute as I heard Katie walk into the living room, where Carter was. Great. . . What was Katie going to say? Could this have been handled any _worse_? I wasn't supposed to lose my temper or snap. Stupid freaking hormones.

I heard the soft thud as Katie sat on the couch where I had sat with Carter. I could just see the look on her face as she evaluated Carter. She had a way of reading into people, it was a tad creepy from someone so small.

"Carter," Katie had gotten to know Carter from all of the times we were at each other's houses over the past three months now, "Why are you so sad? Does this have something to do with Sarah?"

I heard Carter sigh, "Yes, Katie-Cat. She. . . she thinks I don't want to stay with her."

"Oh. Do you?"

"Of course I do! I mean, she's the best part of my life!" It took a lot not to melt from the tenderness of his voice.

Katie didn't answer for a minute, then said, "Does Sarah know that?"

"Well of course she – I mean, I've left her plenty of hints! How could she not know how much I -" Katie interrupted at the worst moment.

"Carty, you of all people should know that Sarah can't see anything farther then her nose!" Katie whined, her usual tactic so people would see things her way, "You really need to be super blunt, or she'll questioning herself and making a huge deal about it. Even _I_ don't do that." I could practically hear her eyes roll.

"So what should I do?" Carter sounded so desperate.

"I'd say you should get her a ring."

My jaw dropped on the table under me. A _ring_? What was Katie going on about?

Carter sounded as confused, "Why would I need a ring?" his tone was so soft when he spoke to my sister.

I forced myself to think objectively, to analyze the conversation without really thinking about it.

"Well, I was mad at my boyfriend Sammy. He didn't share his lunch with me. Daddy gave me an icky sandwich with _mustard_, and Sammy had this big cake from his birthday party. But when I asked him for a little piece, he wouldn't give me anything!" Katie let out a loud huff, "So I broke up with him. I don't really know what that means, but I did it. Then the next day at recess, he gave me a ring and said that he was super sorry and he would share his cake that day if I let him use the play-doh. I think he called it a com-promise, or something. I took the ring and then we went to one of the fourth graders and got married. We even had wedding cake!" Katie giggled like a maniac. I heard Carter chuckle. The sound gave me goosebumps, though I didn't mind. No wait, I minded! I was mad. . . right?

"So what you're saying is, I should give Sarah a gift to make her trust me?" Carter sounded confused.

"No, I think you need to do _something_ to show her you still like her. Make sure she knows without the teeniest bit of doubt that you want to be with her. And just between you and me, it had better be something big."

"Why's that?"

"Because Sarah doesn't yell. Usually she gets into this weird quiet thing that makes you scared stiff. I haven't heard her that loud since. . . ever! Whatever you did, you'll need something huge to fix it. What did you do?" Darn Katie and her curiosity.

"I. . . I think I broke something that wasn't really mine to begin with." Carter's voice was raw.

"Oh. I break stuff sometimes. Actually, a lot of times. What did you break? Did it cost a lot? Who's was it if it wasn't yours?" Katie reeled her questions quickly.

"It was the most valuable thing in the world. I. . . I think I broke her heart, Katie-Cat. Without even doing anything." I felt so sad for him, the last of my anger ebbing away. He sounded so confused.

Katie sounded thoughtful, "Well, you know what I'm supposed to do when _I_ break something?"

"No, what do you do?" Carter still sounded desperate.

"Well, I have to fix it. So I think you need to go and fix Sarah's heart. And make sure you do a good job, or you'll have to buy a new one. And I don't think hearts are very cheap, or else everyone else who got their's broken would be getting new ones." Katie paused and said, "Well, I'd better go and let you go fix. Please don't mess this up Carty. I like you, and I don't know what Daddy will do to you if Sarah stays broken." For a seven year old, she made a lot of sense. I heard her go up the stairs and the door close.

The table was moving under me, which shouldn't have been. And there was a weird sound coming from my throat. My cheeks felt sticky and wet. The chair was shaking too, now that I think about it. Was I doing this? I guess this was how it felt to really sob. I didn't like it. I felt so wrong, weirdly empty. Maybe hollow, except for everything I didn't want. This sucks.

"Oh god, you're crying." Carter's voice sounded quieter then usual. Then again, I had just completely flipped out at him. I felt embarrassed, just to add to everything else. Carter sat next to me, taking my hands in his. His cool touch helped calm me enough to breath properly. He sat with me until I could sit up and I had stopped crying. His eyes were heartbreaking. I had to look away. What if he hated me? All the terrible things I had said to him. . . how could he not? That just started me up again, and I didn't know how I'd be able to stop.

I felt Carter's hands leave mine and I gasped. He stood up and took me in his arms carefully. He moved me back on the couch with him. He stroked my hair and held my hand until I could get control of myself. He didn't say anything, probably scared of setting me off again. I shifted in his lap to look in his eyes. They were so sad and caring. Maybe he didn't hate me. Or, maybe he just didn't like to make girls cry. . .

I sniffed a few times and said, "I. . . I'm sorry Carter. I. . . I snapped. Don't hate me. I didn't mean all of that. I was all worked up and I-" Carter shushed me.

"I know, I know. It's not your fault. You didn't know." he kissed my forehead.

"What. . . what do you mean I didn't know? I didn't know what?"

"I feel terrible. Penelope didn't mean to do this, I'm sure of it." Carter's voice was even more soothing then his touch.

"Penelope?"

Carter nodded, "I told you she was protective of me. I just never knew she'd take it this far." Carter hugged me closer to him.

"Take what how far?" I couldn't think from the mixture of emotions and Carter. I was mumbling to, knowing that even if I mouthed the words, Carter would probably still hear me.

"Sarah, I do what you call distractions because. . . well, I _like_ to. It has nothing to do with me being bored, I just like to try new things. As for why I like _you_. . . Pen seems to have forgotten that the reason I like humans is _because_ of you, not the other way around!" Carter smiled tenderly.

"But I don't get it. Penelope said-"

Carter interrupted, "Penelope _lied_, Sarah. Just because she can _detect_ the truth doesn't mean she'll _say_ it! She was trying to protect me from the big bad world of humans, I guess. I don't know," Carter shook his head, "I don't get girls."

I laughed shakily. We sat in silence, Carter holding me close. I soaked it all up, knowing that we would have to talk more soon.

Carter finally pushed me slightly so that he could look at me, "I really hate to see you cry, you know. It hurts me. And. . . and it hurts me that you would think me so heartless as to just leave you." Carter stroked my cheek as he spoke.

"I'm sorry. Penelope said that you didn't know you were hurting me. She said not to talk to you about it since you wouldn't know." I mumbled.

Carter sighed, "Of course she would say something like that. Sarah, I'm sorry. You were absolutely right to talk to me about it, even yell at me. I'm happy you wanted to work this out. But you need to know," Carter's eyes were fierce, "I won't leave you. You remember what I said in the forest that first time?" I nodded, "Well, it's still true. I need you with me. I. . . " Carter looked up to the stairs, probably remembering his talk with Katie.

"Carter?" He was silent for a few minutes, only stroking my hair.

"Sarah. I didn't want to tell you like this, with you crying and me apologizing, but you need to know. You need to know that you wouldn't be the only one to get hurt if we weren't together. You've become closer to me then my siblings, which I really didn't see possible. You accepted me like no one's done before. I'm so, _so_ sorry that I hurt you. But someone very wise told me that when you break something, you have to go fix it. So, I'm going to do that. Let me help fix you Sarah, because. . . because I love you." Carter took my head in both of his hands. He brought me incredibly slowly closer, one centimeter at a time. He looked in my eyes for any hesitation and found none. His forehead scrunched and he said, "Oh, screw it." And suddenly kissed me.

My eyes shot up in surprise. I gasped against him. His lips were as cool as his hands and just as soft, just as careful. My hands crept up to his gorgeous hair, tangling in his chocolate brown mop of hair. I thought I heard him moan and he brought me closer. He was still so gentle, but so. . . loving. My eyes closed and I kissed him back as much as I dared. My mind was doing victory laps, my body was begging for more. I felt something burn in my chest and remembered breathing. I groaned. I felt Carter's lips turn into one of his big grins. He somehow got closer to me, somehow made everything feel ten times better. My chest burned harder, making me break our kiss before I wanted. Then again, I'd be fine with kissing him forever.

Carter gave me a strange look, "What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, "I'm human, Carter. I need to breath, remember?"

Carter gave me a blank look before turning sheepish, "Oh, right. Well," His grin grew bigger, "You know I could perform CPR."

I laughed, "That was so lame."

Carter nodded, "I know. But you like it."

I shook my head. Carter looked puzzled, "Why not? I thought everyone liked cheesy romance lines."

"I don't like them, I love them. And. . . and I love you." I bit my lip, waiting for Carter's reaction.

Carter leaned down to my ear, kissing the skin around it softly. He whispered, "You have no idea how much I love that."

I leaned back, "Love what? When I say I love you?" I felt Carter nod against my cheek, "Then I love you. I _love_ you. _ I love you_!" I kissed him quickly with each exclamation.

I heard someone running down the stairs. I froze. Katie was supposed to be out of the picture!

"I knew it! I knew you'd do it! I knew she loved you! Yay! I get a big brother!" Katie yelled as she ran into the room. She shoved past me to hug Carter. He looked from her to me and I saw the grin get bigger and bigger on his face.

"Wait, does this make Penelope and Desmond my sister and brother too?" Katie asked.

I laughed and shook my head. Katie smiled, "Good. Penelope kind of scares me. Desmond's cool, but not as cool as Carty!" Katie squeezed Carter one more time before letting go. She smiled and motioned for me to lean forward. She cupped her hand to my ear and whispered, "I think you two should get married like me and Sammy." She giggled and ran off to her room. I heard her yell goodnight before the door slammed shut.

Carter laughed, "She seems a bit young, don't you think?" I rolled my eyes, "So about this marriage thing. . ." Carter trailed off. My jaw dropped. What was he saying? Carter wiggled his eyebrows.

"I have an idea, how about we stay together for more then five minutes before we talk about a wedding." Carter shrugged, his grin never coming off.

"That's fine. I can wait as long as you want. I know I love you, and now I know you love me. No pressure."

I felt stunned for a minute. Carter laughed at my expression, "You sure you don't want to play the field a bit?" I asked.

Carter shook his head, "No, I'm good. Unless you do. . . "He trailed off. I shook my head furiously, "Great."

"How can you be so. . . calm about this?" I felt permanently flustered.

"Well, I've known for quite a while that I love you. And now that you're my mate-"

I gasped, "I'm your _what_?"

Carter looked confused for a second, then laughed, "Mate. It's a vampire thing. Desmond and Penelope are mates. We usually stay with our mates forever. I think that's why our relationship is a bit fast. When a vampire finds his or her mate, it's like a natural bonding thing. We instantly become attracted to each other without even really trying. It makes things easier. I mean, who wants to spend eternity without your soul mate? Or with someone else?" Was he already seeing us together. . . forever? I loved the idea of it, but still. How did he know for _sure_?

I nodded, "Okay, just don't call me that around other humans. They might get the wrong idea. You know, that makes you sound like. . . animals. Like lions or something."

Carter rolled his eyes, "What do you want me to call you then?" I saw a trace of seriousness in his eyes.

I shrugged, "Nothing until we tell my dad. Then. . . I don't know. Your girlfriend?" I felt nervous, even though he had seemed to consider _marriage_.

Carter shrugged, "If you want. I don't care what you call me, just as long as I can do this." He leaned down and kissed me again.

I was a bit more prepared for it this time, but I was still blown away by the sheer force of his feelings he showed me. I opened my mouth slightly but Carter leaned back. Had I gone too far? I felt embarrassed by my hormones.

"Sarah, you seem to forget. Teeth, remember?" I groaned. Right, vampire.

"Sorry." I mumbled. Carter chuckled and moved us so that I was lying down next to him on the couch. He got one of the old quilts and threw it over us. I turned on the television to a game show. We laid together for about an hour, and I was completely content. Carter kissed the nape of my neck, my hair, even my face a few times. One hand rested on my waist, the other twirled my hair around his finger.

Carter said he heard my dad coming down the road in his van. I groaned but got up. We sat together in a more. . . casual position. Roger came in and barely noticed us. He had taken a liking to Carter, and was now trying to come up with a nickname. My dad liked nicknames. So far he hadn't come up with anything very original.

Roger put down his briefcase and sat in the empty chair next to us. I was glad Katie wasn't here. She would have definitely had something to say about Carter and me.

"Hey Sarah. Hey Carter. Are you both done your homework?" We both nodded, "Oh good. I hate to hound you. Where's Katie?"

"She's in bed early." I answered.

Carter stretched and looked at me, "I think I'd better head home. Pen's probably thinking I got mugged or something." I fought not to laugh. Like Carter had to worry about muggers.

Roger nodded, "Well, have a nice evening. Sarah, would you show Carter to the door?" I nodded.

We got to the front door and stayed their looking at each other for one immeasurable moment. Carter gently brought his lips to mine. I smiled as he drew back.

"I love you, Sarah." He murmured.

"I love you too, Carter." I mumbled back. He grinned and left quickly. I said goodnight to my father, then went up to bed myself.

An almost lost best friend, a huge sobbing fest, and a new vampire-mate-boyfriend and a beautiful first kiss. I couldn't think if what else could have happened today.

Life couldn't get any better.

**Author's Note: so, I had to get that out. I must say, writing Sarah (and Carter) get her feelings off her chest helped me after a long day. Not to many reviews for last chapter, I'd love some for this one! (Sorry for hounding you. . . I just love to write this story :D)**

Go to my poll please!  


**And by the way, I have a sort of play list made up, so tell me if you want me to put it up.**

**-Sarah the Confused**


	12. Chapter 12: A Story Or Two

**Author's Note: Hey guys :) Thanks for the reviews, love 'em! I don't know if it _really_ goes, but through this whole chapter I was listening to "The World You Love" by Jimmy Eat World. I'll have a link to it in my profile, along with a picture of the Brown's home.**

**Disclaimer in previous chapters.**

Chapter 12: A Story Or Two

The next day, which was luckily a Saturday, Carter and I found ourself out on my front lawn. Roger had a small business trip in Halifax, about three hours away. He was staying with family there. Katie had gone to my grandparents' for a sleepover while he was gone.

Carter had arrived early – around seven – with a picnic basket and big checkered blanket. I had brought a few books and my sketch pad outside. The basket was now about halfway full, and the food was delicious.

Carter was lying down with his head on my lap, while I played with his hair. I was seriously in love with the brown mop. I couldn't seem to keep my hands to myself. Carter didn't seem to mind.

We hadn't talk too much, just enjoyed each other's company. I had been Carter's. . . girlfriend – I had refused to call him my mate – for less the 24 hours, and already I knew I wanted to stay this way. It was simple, but very, very new. We did what we wanted, which was – right now – just being with each other.

"Carter?" I asked.

He looked up at me with his honey eyes. I suppressed a sigh, "Can you tell me about before?" I asked.

"Before what?" He asked back.

"Sorry, I mean before, when you were human. Please tell me about it."

Carter was quiet for a few minutes, sorting through his thoughts. I kept running my hands through his hair thoughtfully. He let out a long breath and started.

"Well, my father was Richard Brown, and my mother Elanor Brown. I don't remember much about them except how I felt about them, barely any real memories. My father was a great man and the best father. He was affectionate, but he made sure I knew discipline. My mother loved me more then anything. She used to throw these huge parties at our home. She would make sure I danced with all of the proper young ladies," Carter rolled his eyes.

"Of course, I was already unofficially betrothed. My father only humored my mother with all of the balls. Her name was Amelia Hawthorn. She was one of the richest daughters in our town, and our family was the only one with a son good enough for her. I don't really remember _her_. I more remember being scared of her." Carter chuckled.

"Why would you be frightened of her?" I asked.

Carter shifted slightly under my hands then said, "Well, she represented the _future_. All I wanted to do in my life was stay with my family and have a good time at the parties. I didn't want anything to do with _her_. I definitely didn't want to have to accept responsibility. I never wanted to grow up. I guess in a sick way, I got my wish." Carter laughed humorlessly.

"It was September 25th, 1892. I was on my way back from a huge celebration, full with fireworks. I lived close enough to walk from there. My friend, Victor, was with me. He was drunk as sin, you know. I could barely carry him. I had just stopped at his house when I first heard them. I had thought they were other travelers like myself. They walked near to me silently. A few times, I thought they had left. But every time I looked, they were just a bit closer to me.

"I was about halfway home when they finally got close enough to listen to. They barely breathed, I couldn't hear their feet. I got to a turn in the road, and I remember thinking that they might be lost, and were perhaps too shy to ask for help."

"You never thought they might be like, _dangerous_?" I asked.

Carter shook his head, "I grew up in a privileged home. I never knew violence, or even real pain. It never crossed my mind that these people might actually want to _harm_ me. I remember everything crystal clear. . ."

. . .

Carter P.O.V

_The two figures are very tall. They seem to be wearing cloaks that flutter in the evening breeze. No other families lived out on this side of town, so why are they here, and not on the main roads? I smile politely and come slowly closer to them. Perhaps it's one of my classmates, or someone from the party._

_I stop dead when I see them clearly. One man and one woman. They are beautiful, entrancing. Their skin is paler then I had ever see, but unblemished. The woman has very light blond hair and an impassive expression. The man has reddish messy hair and a scowl. I find myself unable to speak, which I don't remember ever have happen to me before. The woman turns to the gentleman and starts speaking as though I'm not there._

"_He has potential, Sebastian. I can feel it. I believe it's about time we enlarged our group." She was staring at me, evaluating._

_Sebastian shrugs, "I don't know, Catalina. We don't know anything about him. I don't want to end up having to kill him, it would be a waste of valuable resources." _

_I can't believe my ears. Kill me? And what group are they talking about? Catalina smiles at me breathtakingly. Sebastian only scoffs. I can't move._

"_Hello young sir. What is your name?" Catalina asks politely._

"_Carter ma'am. Carter Brown." I manage to say._

"_And where are you going alone at night all by yourself?" She asks._

"_I'm going back to my home, ma'am. I was helping my friend Victor get home from the party." I answer._

_Catalina nods, "Well Mr. Brown, I and my. . . husband Sebastian would love it if you'd take a walk with us. It won't take too long. You won't even realize you've come." She smiles again, and I can't help but want to be around her._

"_I'm not sure, my mother worries easily about me. If I could just go and tell her I'm gone -" Sebastian cuts me off._

"_I'd be more then happy to tell her myself. Where do you live?" I tell him the address and he walks – rather quickly – past us to the fork in the road, then disappears in the darkness._

_Catalina and I stay quiet for a few minutes. I know it takes at least ten minutes for me to walk from here to my home, so I don't expect Sebastian to be back soon. I pace a few times around the road, Catalina close by._

"_Carter, could you come here for a moment?" She asks, her voice smooth and alluring. I nod and before I can register what's going on, Catalina has her lips to my neck and she's grasping my shoulders. I don't know how to react, but I can feel my skin tear as she. . . she cuts me?_

_. . . _

Sarah's P.O.V

I stayed silent as he told me about the attack. I couldn't believe anyone would do that to him. To anyone. Who would want to change another being into a bloodthirsty monster? But yet, Carter wasn't like them. There was no hint of monster when he was around me.

Carter watched me as I took in the story. Had he stayed with Catalina and Sebastian long? Where were they now? What had happened to Desmond and Penelope? How had they all met? Questions whirled through my mind. Carter waited patiently, his warm eyes never leaving mine.

"So, after you changed, did you stay with them?" I asked.

Carter nodded, "For a while. We had territory all over the Maritimes. Except for P.E.I, but only because it was really too sunny to be practical to stay in. I love Nova Scotia the best, it's mostly cloudy here, and I love the ocean. It really has everything I'll ever need." Carter smiled fondly as he thought of his home.

"Why aren't you with Catalina and Sebastian now?" I asked.

Carter hesitated for a moment before he said, "Well, you have to understand, Sarah. Catty and Seb weren't like us. They were predators, and only saw humans as either food or possible vampires. If Catalina hadn't thought I was good enough to be a vampire, I would be dead. I didn't like their methods of hunting. Once they found out about my gift, they thought it might be more. . . _enjoyable_ to taunt our pray. They gave me lines to recite to the poor humans, so that they'd get more frightened, and the blood would pump faster. They told me it tasted better when they were terrified. I didn't know what to think. They were really my only family now, so what they did must have been right. I had never seen another coven of vampires. I thought all of them were that. . . _cruel_."

Carter saw me shiver in disgust. He sat up quickly and hugged me close to him. I put my head on his icy chest, immediately calmed.

"Then one day, a nomad past through our territory. It was Desmond. He stayed with us for a few weeks. When he found out how we hunted, he was mortified. I really think he hated me for it." Carter chuckled at the memory.

I couldn't see Desmond mad at anyone. I definitely couldn't see him _hate_ anyone. He was just so _nice_.

"Well, Desmond found out it wasn't my idea, and he told me that that life wasn't my only option. See, Desmond's gift from his human life was his _humanity_. He has a lot more control over blood lust, and he was able to keep all of his human memories. He's actually been a really great friend, and he's really helped Pen and me with the self control thing." Carter explained. I tried to hold my giggles back, but a few escaped. Carter gave me a confused look.

"I'm sorry. . . It's just, when you said self control, all I can think of is you trying to resist chocolate cake or something." I laughed.

Carter shook his head and laughed with me, "You are weird."

I grinned, "But you love me for it."

Carter's face got a tad more serious, "Absolutely." My smile grew.

We sat together in silence, me eating some of the snacks. Carter really hadn't known what to get, so it looked like he got one of every item at the Sobeys. I had to laugh at the pineapple.

"What, I thought you like it!" Carter said.

"I like pineapple when it's _cut up_, how am I supposed to get past the spikes?" I asked. Carter looked thoughtful.

"Well, I _could_ cut it up for you." Before I could reply, Carter took the pineapple in his hands and with a few. . . swipes? He had it cut up neatly, the shell already in the garbage bag he had brought.

I gulped and took the cubes from him, "You know, that will take a lot of getting used to." Carter shrugged and brought me closer. We had probably been on my lawn for hours by now.

"When did you and Desmond meet Penelope?" I asked out of the blue.

"Actually, Desmond. . . made Penelope, I'd guess you'd call it. He found her in the woods once while he was hunting. I have no clue how he didn't just feed, but he said he saw something in her. Something that made him need her to live. After he changed her, they've been together ever since. They kind of a cross between my siblings and my parents. Vampires can't have kids, so I'm like their child they never had. I don't see them as that though. Their my family. Plain and simple."

I sighed, "It's so sad, how you all have to be that way. But, it's kind of good. You were placed in a world full of monsters, but you end up being the angels." I kissed his nose lightly.

Carter looked thoughtful. He tensed for a second before saying, "Do you want Roger to know about us?" He asked, his voice gentle.

I bit my lip, "I. . . I guess. I just wish I knew what he'll say! I never know with my father."

Carter chuckled, "Well, he loves you. And he seems to like me. Would you like me to um, _help out_?" I knew what he was referring to. His gift.

"I don't know. It seems like cheating to me." I said.

Carter shrugged, "Well, we have plenty of time to figure that out." I nodded.

We sat together for who new how long. We moved to the back porch at some point to watch the sunset. You couldn't see that much because of the clouds, but the clouds themselves were a rainbow of colours. I snuggled with Carter on the porch swing, completely and throughly blissful.

I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next thing I knew, I was in my bed, Carter kneeling next to me, tucking me in. I could almost hear the 'aww' in my head.

"Goodnight, Carter." I mumbled.

"Goodnight, Sarah. I'll see you tomorrow." Carter whispered.

"Tomorrow?" I asked. Tomorrow was Sunday, not Monday. We wouldn't see each other in school.

"You think I'm going to go through a whole day without seeing my mate – girlfriend?" Carter asked, kissing my forehead, "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"Mm. I love you too." I murmured, barely conscious.

The last thing I heard was Carter's beautiful laughter, which was definitely a good thing.

**Author's Note: There we go, Nice and fluffy along with some back story :) I've never really written in the present tense in a story before, so I'd love some feedback on that in particular.**

**Make sure to vote in my poll, guys. I'm close to the point that's I'll need to actually start writing one way or another.**

**Soon to Come in "A New Dusk": Penelope Drama, Visitors, Cullens oh my! (not necessarily in that order)**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah the Cofused**


	13. Chapter 13: Three Vampires and a Sobeys

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I wrote this on my way back from my trip, so blame sleep deprivation if it sucks, lol. Love the reviews, I'm still answering them :)**

**Disclaimer: See previous chapters.**

Chapter 13: Three Vampires and a Sobeys

I woke up at seven – early for a Sunday. Roger was still in Halifax, and would come back tomorrow. I got up slowly, remembering that Katie had a play date, and she would need food.

Carter had said he'd come see me today. I really hoped so, because today didn't seem very interesting.

I got to the kitchen and went through the cupboards. We were starting to run low on a lot of stuff, so I would have to go to Sobeys and pick some stuff up.

I was about halfway through a mental checklist of groceries when I heard an impatient knock at the door.

"I'm coming!" I shouted as I rounded the door to the front hallway. I could see a tall figure through the glass door. Tall and well built. . .

"Carter!" I shouted once I opened the door. I jumped up and hugged him tightly to me. I felt him laugh against me. He held me for a nice, long moment before he set me down gently. I couldn't help but pout slightly.

Carter nodded back to the driveway. I looked around him and saw Penelope and Desmond coming up to the door. I blushed and motioned for the three of them to follow me into the house.

Carter went to the living room and sat on my old couch. Penelope followed and sat in my father's chair lightly. I groaned quietly. I really hoped she won't be difficult.

Desmond stopped right in front of me, a huge grin on his face, "And where's _my_ big welcome?" He demanded. I laughed and hugged him around the middle. Desmond chuckled with me and we made our way to his siblings.

I sat next to Carter, who wrapped an arm around me. His cool body felt very nice next to mine. It was unseasonably warm this year. There was supposed to be _snow_ on the ground, for Pete's sake!

"So, why's everyone over here?" I asked Carter. He hugged me closer before he answered.

"There's a small situation right now, and we came over to talk to you about it." Carter said.

My mind went into overdrive. I looked at Penelope, "He's lying, isn't he? It's not small at all."

I saw Penelope's lips quiver slightly as she fought a smile, "Well, it's not huge, but a bit. . . worrisome."

I looked back at Carter, "Well? Are you going to tell me?"

Carter shifted until I was in his lap and put his arms around me, very protectively. He played with my hair as he spoke a new habit.

"We all came to mostly make sure you and Katie are safe. And to ask you something."

"Alright, ask away." I said.

Carter looked down at me, hesitating before he said, "Well, we were wondering if you and Katie wouldn't mind staying at our house for a little while."

"I. . . uh, why?" I asked, fluent as always.

Carter shrugged, "Well we just kind of want to -"

Penelope cut him off sharply, "Carter Brown, please stop lying already! You'll give me a headache!"

Carter grinned sheepishly, "Sorry Pen. Well Sarah, there's going to be some visitors with us, and we just want to make sure you two are safe."

"Visitors? Please don't patronize me, Carter. What's going on?"

Desmond – who was sitting next to me on the couch – sat up and said, "Well, I was hunting out by Truro, and I saw another group of vampires. Nomads from the looks of them. They were uh, _feeding, _so I didn't want to interrupt them. They're coming this way, so I estimate that they'll be here in about two days."

Everything was silent as I let the news sink in. Other vampires. . . here? I started to wonder just how many there were. Maybe vampires were attracted near each other, like magnets or something.

I cleared my throat, "Does. . . does this happen often? Nomads passing through?"

carter shrugged, "From time to time. They only stay for a day or two, then they move on. We always ask them not to feed in our immediate area, so they usually don't come back. Nice people, _bad_ tempers."

"What about my father? He's coming back tomorrow."

Penelope pipped up, "No, he'll stay in Halifax until next Sunday. He'll call later about someone breaking into the conference room and thrashing the place." Desmond took a small bow, making me laugh.

I really didn't see any problem with staying over at my boyfriend's house. And really, where could we be safer then our own protector's home?"

"Fine, we'll stay with you. Katie's got a play date, so we can come over after. And I should probably go and get some groceries. . . " I trailed off.

Carter gave me a funny look. I rolled my eyes, "There's more isn't there?" He nodded.

"We don't want you two alone until this is over. Katie's good to go to her friend's, but I don't want you alone in the car or in the grocery store. It's only a precaution, but I need to know you're safe." I couldn't say no to him, with his big sad eyes and worried look.

"Fine then. Let's see what mayhem three vampires can reek in a grocery store.

We took our van since Carter's Audi was a four passenger. I got Katie dressed and fed in less then ten minutes, which was quite a feat.

Desmond and Penelope sat in the middle row, Katie in the back, and Carter and me in the front. I still didn't have my driver's license, but Carter was technically less then a month from his seventeenth birthday.

"Ugh, it smells like like Doritos." Desmond complained, scrunching up his face. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, I love Doritos!" Katie countered. Desmond stuck his tounge out at her.

We dropped Katie off at her friend's and headed for the Sobeys.

"A few ground rules" Penelope said as we parked, "No running, growling, hissing, snarling or jumping. No grocery cart races. No daring each other to eat food. Do not go anywhere near the butcher. Do not pretend to be dead in the freezers. Don't steal anything. And _do not_ flirt with the cashiers."

Carter and Desmond scowled but nodded to her. I laughed. If anyone could keep the two in line, it was Penelope.

After a small scene with Desmond and the sliding doors, we got into the store and found a Cart. Carter and I went to the vegetable aisle. Desmond and Penelope said something about frozen foods.

I was checking the tomatoes when I heard him.

_The mighty hunter stalks his prey._

I froze. What the hell was Carter doing? And in a Sobeys?

_The predator moves silently forward as his prey grazes. He's chosen a young doe today. He can smell her. Mmm._

I rolled my eyes. I'm a deer. _Great_.

_The doe seems to be alerted of the predator. She's now moving to the waterhole._

I paused in front of the Gatorade. _Where is he?_

_The doe seems confused. The predator takes the opportunity and -_

"Strikes!" Carter yelled as he grabbed me by my middle and swung me around. I shrieked. Carter set me down and kissed my neck softly, making me giggle.

Penelope appeared at the beginning of the aisle. She stormed over to Carter and put one finger on his chest, pushing him back against the display.

"What do you think you're doing? Didn't I say -" Carter cut her off.

"You never said no hunting." He smiled, smug.

"Well, I would have thought you'd figure that out by yourself. I'll remember that next time." Penelope spat. She stalked away, muttering.

We waited until she was out of sight, then burst into laughter.

"Well, mighty hunter, want to get me three tomatoes, since your little escapade made me forget to pick up some?"

Carter grinned, "Aw, but you love my escapades." I rolled my eyes as he trudged to the fruits.

I had about three minutes of peaceful shopping before Desmond found me. He seemed really excited about something. He brought me over to the pharmacy. I was confused. It's not like vampires got colds.

Desmond turned the corner and I groaned. There it was, with no one nearby.

A heart rate monitoring machine.

"Seriously, Des?" I asked, laughing.

Desmond sat down and started up the machine. The think started to squeeze his upper arm to get the pulse that wasn't there. I saw the balloon get bigger and bigger as it tried to give enough pressure to Desmond's arm to get the measurement. I scoffed at him before turning. I was only two aisles away when I heard Carter.

"Sarah! Get it off of me! Arg!" I ran up to the fruit and froze.

Carter was covered with tomato guts. He was trying to brush it off unsuccessfully. I laughed until my sides hurt.

"It's not funny, get this stuff off!" He yelled. I walked over and cleaned him up.

I gave him a look until he said, "It wasn't my fault! I thought I had a good grip on it! Then it frigging exploded on me! I didn't mean to. Sorry."

"It's okay, Carter. I'll just have to do the vegetable shopping myself from now on."

There was a loud pop from behind us. Carter led me over to the back. I really hoped it wasn't -

And there was Desmond with the now broken heart monitoring machine. Carter looked confused. I grabbed Desmond and Carter and brought them to the cashiers, so we wouldn't get caught. Penelope was already loading her groceries onto the table.

We got to their house in record time. I really loved it. Penelope went out at one point to pick up Katie. Carter loved my little sister, and she had him wrapped around her little finger. We spent the whole day with his family.

"Carty?" She asked him as she snacked on some crackers and cheese.

"Yes, sweetie?" He answered.

"I'm tired. Where do I sleep? Can I go in your room?"

"Actually honey, you'll get your own room. Do you want me to take you up there?" She nodded sleepily. Carter picked her up and brought her over his shoulder. She giggled as he ran up the stairs. I sighed, Carter was great with kids.

Carter came back down a few minutes later and took one look at me before he carried me to his room. I felt something soft on my back, then Carter wrapped his arms around me. I was asleep in seconds.

**Author's Note: There, done (no, not the whole story):D All of the chapters seem to end in Sarah going to sleep. . . ah well. Reviews greatly appreciated, yadda yadda yadda. :D**

BTW, I had a great trip, and yes, I will be updating Hostage (which got a lot more attention then I would have thought). 

**Ciao!**

**Sarah the Confused**

**P.S Vote on the Poll, it'll be closing soon.**


	14. Chapter 14: Another Side

**Author's note: Alright guys, I got to say, a bit disappointed with the number of reviews. I know I really shouldn't complain, I've had NO flames and amazing reviewers. There just seems to be a large drop in the number, s'all. It might just be one of those lulls though - shrug - I think a lot of people will like this one, I know I liked writing it :)**

**Disclaimer: In previous chapters.**

Chapter 14: Another Side

Penelope's P.O.V

Today is not my day.

I was already stressed out over the three nomads coming, and now I had to put up with Carter's mate, _Sarah _and her little sister Katherine. Desmond was playing the fun loving sibling, and I'm stuck as the bitch. Fair? No.

Alright, I had made my mistakes. Trying to get rid of Sarah hadn't really worked. I had thought she was lying about her feelings negatively. How was I supposed to know she was actually _suppressing_ how she felt? I growled quietly at the thought.

She wasn't bad. I mean, nice girl and everything. Smart enough, fit enough. But she wasn't extraordinary. She wasn't the same as Carter. Carter was spontaneous and fast and fun. Sarah was. . . human. She was like our species' cattle. Carter can't love a _cow_.

She'd be back soon. Today was a sunny day, so we were all cooped up in the house. Maybe I could convince Desmond to leave for a few weeks. . . months. . . years? Just until this whole thing blows over.

_You're moping_. Carter thought to me.

"Am not." I retorted.

_Are to. You're doing that thing with your eyebrows were they scrunch up and you get all quiet and still. Moper!_

I rolled my eyes at him. Did he _always_ have to be right?

Carter walked into the living room where Desmond and I were sitting on the couch, watching my favorite musical, _Les __Mis_.

"Sarah will be here soon with Katie. What do you think we should do? Katie might get bored here, and we can't go out. . . " He trailed off.

Desmond thought for a minute then said, "Well, we could play DDR. That's always fun."

Carter shook his head, "I don't think she'd be into that. She seems more into Barbies. . . " He looked at me in question.

I shook my head, "Oh no, I'm not playing doll with little Miss. Sunshine, okay? You're her 'big brother', you do it!" Katie now had it in her head that she was siblings with Carter. It was a tad odd, but I suppose cute.

Carter shrugged, "Fine. It's not a big deal. What should we make them for supper?" Wait, he was fine with playing dolls with Katie? Since when was he Mr. Domestic?

"We could try soup, that's not too hard." Desmond said. Carter nodded and headed for the kitchen to find the food. I snuggled closer to Desmond.

"I'm tired of being the mean one." I said to his chest. Des laughed and hugged me tight.

"But we love you for it. You always have our best interest at heart." He nuzzled my hair and I sighed.

Did I really want what's best for them? Or me? Carter was _mine_. We were more close then siblings. He _knew_ me, I _knew_ him. I was so used to being the _only_ girl with my two boys. Sarah. . . Sarah could take him away from me. Not Desmond though, but Carter was still precious to me. Sarah didn't know what she was doing. She could hurt him, something humans did all the time.

I knew humans. The ones I had been with had left me alone in the woods to fend for myself. I had been abandoned. They had been scared of my abilities to know when they lied. It gave them the creeps. I had known their plans before hand, but there had been nothing I could have done. Desmond had found me four days later, dying. Humans were deadly in ways much different then us.

_You're doing it again! What are you thinking about so intently?_ Carter asked.

"Nothing, Carter. Go get your _girlfriend_." I sneered at the word.

Carter rolled his eyes, "You know she's the one who wants me to call her that, Pen."

I laughed, "I never pegged you to do anything other people want." He was usually so bossy, never taking anyone's advice. Except my own, of course.

"Well, no. But Sarah's different. Sarah's. . . different." I could tell this wasn't what he really meant. The way he said her name irritated me. Like she was his. Like she was his little secret.

"Yeah yeah, go get her."

Carter said goodbye to Des and ran out to his car.

Desmond and I were quiet as we watched the musical. I could finally relax with all of the drama currently five blocks down the road, at the school.

"I think we should get them a gift." Desmond blurted out.

"Get who what gift?" I asked.

"Sarah and Katie. You know, since there going to be part of the family." I could feel the truth radiating from him. He truly believed that.

I laughed off my stress, "You sound like we're the mafia." Desmond laughed too.

"Yeah, but still. What should we get them? A car? A waffle maker? Jewelry?"

I shrugged, "Why don't you think about it, I will too. Carter knows more about them then we do." I saw Desmond's face fall.

"You still don't like them, do you? Why are you having such a hard time?" Desmond asked, his voice soft.

I shrugged, "I guess I'm being a mother hen. I want the best for Carter. She's _human_, Des!"

Desmond started at my face for a long moment, "This is about. . . _them_, isn't it?" Desmond knew my aversion to most humans was because of my past. I only nodded. Desmond pushed me back slightly to look into my eyes fully, "Listen, Penny. Sarah _isn't_ them. She's a kind and caring person who loves Carter to death. She has nothing in common with those. . . _murderers_."

I could feel the truth off of him, "Thanks Des, I really needed to hear that." Desmond nodded and brought me closer to him, kissing me gently. We really were like parents to Carter. Although he'd never admit it.

And so we waited for Sarah, Carter and Katie together. Tomorrow the nomads may be arriving, and everyone in the little town would be in danger.

Really, really, _really _not my day.

**Author's Note: Yeah I know, a bit short (again! arg) but I needed to get this out. Reviews awesome :D**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah**


	15. Chapter 15: Carter and his Ideas

**Author's Note: Hey, thanks so much for the great feedback! Love it! Wow, I'm almost at 50 reviews! How crazy is THAT?? (VERY) Anyways, we're getting ever so closer to the Cullens, I know I've been looking forward to it, have you?**

**Disclaimer: See earlier chapters.**

Chapter 15: Carter and his Ideas

_Carter was standing next to me in a handsome tuxedo, smiling hugely. I could see myself from the third person's view, usually associated with dreaming. I wore a strapless cream dress with beautiful embroidery stitched in. The skirt part was full and puffed out, making me look very doll-ish. Everything around me was white and gold. It looked like a fairytale. Carter leaned forward to me, and I was in my body again. He slid something on my finger. I looked down. A. . . ring? It was a large diamond with an intricate pattern on the band. He had one on too. They looked beautiful and much too expensive. _

_Carter brought his mouth to my ear, "I do." He whispered. I knew this wasn't really the order, but I was too shocked and giddy with pure happiness to care. I wasn't seriously marrying Carter, was I?_

_Carter picked me up into his arms and twirled me around, making me giggle. He kissed me long and wonderfully hard, making my hear spin along with my body. But this seemed wrong. It seemed that only Carter was showing his affection. When had I said I do? When had I kissed him? Or given him his ring? I shoved the thoughts back though. This was my moment. Our moment._

_Carter leaned forward, "I love you, my wife. And just think, soon we'll be together for forever. All eternity." His eyes shone as he said so, like there was nothing more in the world he could possibly want but little ol' me._

_But wait. . . forever? The only way that could really happen was if I was. . . like him. But I wasn't. . . he wouldn't. . . would he? Carter cut my thoughts off with another kiss. Then I found myself drifting away from him, into consciousness. . . _

I woke up to the feel of satin on my skin. I felt disoriented. Hadn't I fallen asleep on the couch? This was definitely not the couch.

It was still dark out. The sun just barely visible on the horizon. Great, the Browns wouldn't be at school today. Today was the day the nomads would come. I didn't want to be in a school full of humans with out my Carter. Wouldn't that be a high risk area? With all of those people. . .

I looked around the room as the light started to slowly grow stronger. That dream. . . so vivid, so _perfect_!

I'd never really considered becoming a. . . vampire. After all, I was only fifteen. I had plenty of time until I was even equal to Carter's human age. And really, I hadn't even known about vampires for very long, let alone been in love with one. But I suppose that's where I would be headed, right? I mean, Carter and I were in love, so wouldn't we eventually decided to just. . . keep going?

I was in a big and overstuffed bed. It had one, two. . . nine pillows, all in brown and cream shades. It felt like. . . heaven. Only, a bed. I really needed to get more sleep. . . My head hit the pillows again, and I was just falling asleep when I registered the bed being sat on by someone. A someone who was crawling over to me and wrapping his arms around me. _Mm_, I liked this someone.

I turned to face Carter and snuggled into his chest. I felt him chuckle, his body vibrating slightly.

"Hmm?" I asked him.

"You know, I'm supposed to be waking you up, not helping you sleep." Carter said, but I heard the reluctance I was hoping for. I moved so that I was lying on top of him – something I would have thought uncomfortable, with him being so hard and cold, but it was nice and felt safe. Carter looked a little. . . stunned? I shrugged it off.

"But you don't want me to wake up just yet, do you? I mean, I was having the most wonderful dream. . . " I whispered.

Carter started laughing again, "I know."

How would he know? I don't talk in my sleep – the closest to that was a few cases of sleepwalking, and that really didn't count. Carter's laughing grew when he saw my confusion. I raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to continue.

Carter's laughs subsided and he whispered – even though I suppose it didn't really matter how loud we were – to me, "I did a little experiment last night. I. . . gave you that dream. With my gift."

"You. . . made me dream?" I didn't quite know what to think. Was I happy, because my boyfriend made me dream of marrying him? Or mad, because he violated my privacy? But no, violate wasn't really the right word. It wasn't something _bad_. Just misguided, but sweet.

Carter started to apologize, "I. . . well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm sorry." He hung his head, which really didn't do much since I was on his chest.

"It's alright. Next time though, how about you ask first, okay?" Carter nodded sullenly, "Hey hey, I'm not saying I didn't like it." Carter perked up quickly, "I loved it. It was beautiful. How'd you think up the dress? I didn't think you were into this type of thing."

Carter laughed, "Actually, I was looking at one of Katie's dolls. It was a nice dress, but I think I'd rather it on you." He looked up at me from under his lashes. I snuggled closer to him.

"Thank you Carter. That's very nice of you. Now I guess I should get up and go take a shower. . . " Carter pulled me closer, but not too tightly.

"Yes you should. Won't, but should." Carter grinned. I rolled my eyes at him. His grin grew bigger as he got an idea.

_Want to have a bit of fun with the family?_ I liked it when he said family like that. Like we were already in the same one. I nodded.

_Great. Just let me do my thing. If all goes well, Penelope will be in here in less then two minutes._

Penelope? The only reason I could think of her especially coming in here was if Carter started telling a whole bunch of statements that were true or false. But he wouldn't. . .

Oh yes, he would.

"Mm, Sarah." Carter moaned a little louder then he would ever really moan. Or well, maybe it was just that I'd never made him. . . I had to laugh when he winked at me and stuck out his tounge. I held my hand on my mouth.

"Sarah, I love you. Come away with me." Carter stage whispered, pulling me over so that he was on top of me. He kissed my forehead and motioned for me to respond.

"Go where, Carter?" I asked – hopefully – breathlessly.

"Anywhere, my love. We can run away together." He started to make strange lip movements, like in an English dubbed movie.

"You mean. . ." I trailed off, wanting Penelope to hear Carter say the magic words that would make her sprint.

"Yes, elope. We can be married, together for all time." Carter shook with laughter as we heard Penelope storm up the stairs, unlike her usual graceful walk. Uh oh.

"That sounds. . . incredible." I chose a word that could mean two things, both good and bad.

"Incredible is right, Carter Vincent Brown!" Penelope growled as she burst into the room. I tried to push Carter off of me to be in a more respectable position, but Carter – of course – wouldn't budge. He started to kiss my jaw, all the way to my collarbone. My breathing picked up to double time. No, triple time as his lips moved around my neck and face. He was just reaching my lips when I felt something move. A second later, Carter was across the room from me, and Penelope was in front of him, quickly reaching down and pulling him up by his collar. I could see the confusion and. . . fear? In her eyes.

"I'm sorry, that wasn't very. . . _sensible_ of me." Penelope muttered as she set Carter down, "But what exactly was _that_ about?" She looked from Carter to me and back, clearly shooting us death glares.

Carter and I um-ed and well-ed for a minute before we looked at each other and started going into hysterics. Carter would've cried if he could, and I knew I did. Penelope looked startled then rolled her eyes.

"You two will be the death of me." She said as she walked out of the room, "Again."

It took a few minutes and a lot of deep breathes to finally calm down.

"That," Carter said, "was awesome." I nodded, "You should probably get dresses though. I'll go down and fix you some breakfast. Desmond already got Katie's." I nodded again and kissed him quickly before he went downstairs.

I had most of my clothes in their house already, only a few things back at mine. It was nice, living here. We were one family, and we'd face these nomads together. Katie would be staying with us today, and I would try to stay too. Penelope and Desmond would go and meet the nomads, and Carter would stay with us.

I looked down at my clothes, barely thinking before now what I was going to wear. My old jeans were a little tight right now – Carter tried to feed me too much, not suer what a normal portion size is. I struggled with the zipper, bumping into the bed and lying down on it.

I heard the door open right before I heard Carter gasp. I looked down at myself. Everything covered, my tank top riding up near my ribs. Carter could see a bit of underwear, but not really anything.

"What. . .what are you doing? I'm sorry I'll. . . go. . . " Carter stuttered. I looked up. He had a tray full of food. _Way_ too much food.

"I'm. . . trying. . . to get. . . these pants on. What's. . . it. . . look like?" I grunted.

"I really don't know what it looks like. Do uh, you want. . . help?" I could see how uncomfortable he was. I blushed.

"Not if you don't want to. It's fine I'll get them. . . on." I relaxed as I finally got the zipper, feeling pretty proud of myself.

I scooted back into the bed. Carter brought the food closer. It was. . . just wonderful. And it tasted even better then it looked. Carter tried to dare me into eating the coffee – I don't like it – but I was able to stop him.

I was just finishing when Katie ran in. Carter leaned away from me so that we were sitting next to each other instead of so close.

"What?" I whispered, "No make out session this time?" Carter was about to answer when Katie came and bounded on the bed.

"Hey Sarah! Hey Carty! What's up?" She asked, in one of her very excited moods.

"Nothing, Katie. How was your breakfast?" I asked. Katie sat in Carter's lap, playing with his fingers.

"It was scrumptious! Des made me this huge omelet with cheese, and a big orange and toast and jam and apple juice, and -" I cut her off.

"Big breakfast then." She nodded.

Carter cleared his throat theatrically. Katie turned and looked at him, "I think you should go see Penelope, Katie-Cat. She probably needs some help right now."

Katie screwed up her face, "I don't think Penny likes me. She's not as nice as you are. Or Des." Katie snuggled into Carter, then shivered slightly.

"Katie hun, I think you need to go warm up, okay? Go down and see Des then." I said.

Katie nodded, "Okay. Carty, you warm up too, okay? You're freezing!" She ran from the room as fast as she could to see Des.

Carter had one of his bad idea grins. I cocked my head to one side and said, "What now, Carter?"

Carter came closer and put his hand on my cheek softly, He brought his other hand down to my waist. He kissed me gently and well, _lovingly_. We stayed like that for who knew how long. All I knew was that it wasn't long enough.

Carter pulled away, "I'm just _warming up_." He whispered.

I rolled my eyes. We laid together for an immeasurable moment, just being together. I really loved it. If this was what I could have _forever_, sign me up.

Penelope entered the room again, and I groaned along with Carter. We both sat up together, wary.

She held up her hands defensively, laughing quietly, "No don't worry, I'm not on another killing spree. Actually Carter, I think I found something. I was looking around and I think they're on the other coast."

Carter sat up, "What do you -"

Penelope cut him off, "Others. I. . . I think I've finally found others like us."

**Author's Note: DUH DUH DUH!! lol This was fun to write, I like fluff and fun :D  
Also guys, I'd like to tell you all: The nomads are not Cullens, nor James and co. They were one of the main reasons I wrote this, in order to put them in :) (this will make more sense when you read the story. . . ) But yes, Cullens are soon!**

**Lots of love to you guys, love back?**

**Ciao!**

**- Sarah**

**P.S And also, I think I'm going to close the poll. It's done, yay!**

**P.P.S Also, I'm thinking of changing the story's name, since 1. there seems to be another story with that name, and 2. it really isn't that good. . . yes or no?**


	16. Chapter 16: The Waiting Game

**Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! A mix of school, my dog and IDOALID is making my life a tad hectic, lol. Luckily, I have reviewers that remind me that I need to be fair with my updating :) Lots of love to you reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight universe and canon characters are copyright Stephenie Meyer, original characters are mine.**

Chapter 16: The Waiting Game

Carter sat, shocked. He didn't move one muscle. Penelope was looking at him not with concern, but with curiosity. Carter was our leader. He knew what to do about almost everything. Sure, Penelope and Desmond acted like parents, but Carter was the cool, confident one.

Carter looked down at me, then at Penelope. I had never seen him this serious.

"Penelope, could you have possibly told me that at a _worse_ time?" Carter whispered furiously.

Penelope looked confused, "What do you mean? There are others like us, Carter! We're not freaks! This is what we've been waiting for!" Penelope walked over to our bed and sat with us.

"I don't need that right now. I just need these nomads to come and go. Can we worry about everything else later? I have a lot more to lose right now then I did before." Carter looked down at me and smiled.

Penelope nodded, "I'm going to go down with Des. Can you two come down soon so we can figure out what to do?" Carter and I both agreed. Penelope walked to the door and closed it behind her.

Carter and I both let out a breath at the same moment. Carter wrapped his arms around me and I leaned against him.

"Carter?" I whispered.

"Yes?" He answered.

"Why can't you just . . . make me a vampire? Wouldn't all of this be a lot less complicated?" Carter let in a loud breath as I spoke. I sat up to look him in the eye, "What's wrong?" I asked.

Carter shifted before he said, "Well, I really should've told you before but . . . becoming a vampire is a bit more . . . complex then you might think."

"I don't under-"

Carter cut me off, "It hurts, Sarah. It hurts more then you can ever imagine. For _days_. Usually three. Your whole body, your very skin feels like it's burning off. Do you want that? Do you know what that would do to _me_? I can't . . . I would never want that for you. And newborns . . . they're practically uncontrollable. All they think of is blood. I can't . . . I can't think of you as a monster. You have plenty of time ahead of you. There's no rush, _trust me_."

Carter stopped and stared at me. I tried to think about what he was saying. He wasn't planning on changing me? A small part of me felt happy that he wanted what was best for me, that he didn't want me to get hurt. But that bigger part felt hurt. What was he planning on doing after I died? Just . . . keep going?

"But . . . you _are_ going to turn me one day, right? You _are_ going to keep me. Carter?" Carter turned to look at the wall, away from me, "You _aren't_? Carter Brown! What exactly are you thinking?"

_Sarah, please stop yelling._ Carter thought, frantic, _I know you think I deserve this but let me explain._

"I'm listening." I huffed.

_I'm not going to deny that I don't have any immediate plans to change your species. I love you though, Sarah. You're my soul mate, pure and simple. But you aren't even eighteen. You're a lovesick teenager who doesn't know what humanity is, let alone know what it means to give it up. I was older then you, and I still regret not growing up. Now, I'd _never_ give this, _you_ up for that, but I want you to understand that this is a one way street. You shouldn't have to feel threatened when the time comes for us to make that decision._

"You really know how to make a girl feel loved, Carter." I mumbled. Carter laughed and hugged me close.

"We better get downstairs, alright?" Carter asked. I nodded and we got up to go.

Katie was sitting on the couch with Desmond. She was teaching him cat's cradle with a shoelace. Penelope was across from them, watching Katie.

Carter led me to the couch next to Katie.

_Tell her to go play in her room. She really shouldn't hear this._ Carter told me. I nodded to him.

"Katherine?" Katie looked up tensely. I never used her full name unless I was mad or it was something important, "How about you go upstairs to your room? I'm sure you have some homework to do." Katie nodded solemnly and hugged Desmond before she ran upstairs.

We all waited for a long moment until we heard Katie's door bang shut.

Carter held my hand before he started, "Alright guys. So the nomads are coming today. We're going to have to keep Sarah and Katie in the house. I'll stay with them the whole time. Desmond, you set up a patrol around the house. They'll smell us all over the town, so Penelope; you track them to make sure they don't hurt anyone. Distract them, trick them, I don't care. I don't want one death here that could not have happened. _Every_ human is precious to us. Other then that, you can make sure they're not lying to us, Pen. I'll make sure to give them a reason to move on. They shouldn't be here for more then a few hours."

We all agreed to the plan. For the next few hours until noon, the house was quiet but not still. There was always the low buzz of energy, excitement, and a dose of fear.

Carter Katie and I were watching a movie as we waited. Katie was in an innocent oblivion, watching the movie. I had no clue what we were watching; everything seemed to be in a haze.

"Carter?" Katie whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I don't get why Belle loved The Beast. He seems so mean at first. And she's so pretty, she had Gaston." Katie had never really liked this movie. She liked Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella; stories that had a princess and prince.

"Well, the special thing about The Beast is that he _was_ bad, but he changed because of Belle. She showed him all of the great things about himself, and of life." Carter told Katie while staring at me. I felt myself blush a tomato red.

We all watched the movie quietly, and I focused. Were there other parallels in their story and ours? We got to the siege on the castle when I saw another tie to our story. We both had intruders, although ours were keener on my death then Carter's. Would I be in more danger then I had once thought?

Those other vampires . . . those other human friendly ones. Could we all get along? Would they shun the Browns because of me? Would they think that it was wrong to have a human as an equal?

Desmond ran as fast as he could into the living room without alerting Katie of something.

"Carter! They're here, almost at the house!" He said furiously fast.

"Katie, why don't you go with Des up to your room, I'm sure he wouldn't mind seeing some of your storybooks." I suggested. Katie nodded and paused the movie, taking Desmond's hand and running up the stairs.

"Are you ready? You can go with Katie if you want . . ." Carter suggested. I shook my head.

"My place is at your side. They have to know I'm not dinner." I joked. Carter smiled faintly.

_They'll be listening to us to try and plan their next move. Be very careful about what you say._ Carter thought to me.

I nodded and said the only words I knew were safe, "I love you."

**Author's Note: So, next chapter is the Nomads, then Cullen time! (Yes, you are not the only one saying "FINALLY!" lol)**

**Also, IDOALID will be update tomorrow. . . I think. Probably. It's halfway done right now :)**

**AND! I keep forgetting, but anyone who likes this story should go to my profile, where they can see my interview of this story. A lot of little tidbits and bonus features :D**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah**


	17. Chapter 17: Nomad Party

**Author's Note: Hey everybody! Sorry the update is so LATE, school is taking over my life. I'm in preIB, so I get more work then your average 10th grader. It's ok though, it's good work :)**

**So, Nomads! have fun reading!**

**Disclaimer:I don't own anything Twilight, only my own characters!**

Chapter 17: Nomad Party

Pablo's P.O.V

I sniffed the air as we walked into the city limits. Human, _everywhere_. I quickened my pace. Kent and Dante followed suite.

"I'd say it's time for a quick break, don't you think?" I asked. Dante nodded.

"Sure, I'm pretty hungry. But we can't stop for long, I need to get back to Courtney." Kent answered.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll get back in plenty of time." I rolled my eyes. Kent and his mate Courtney had decided that they'd have a wedding forty years into their relationship. Not that it mattered, it's not like any of us were on a clock. So now, Kent, Dante and myself were having a bachelor trip around Canada. We still had Prince Edward Island to go before we'd go back to our territory, down near Boston.

"Do you two smell that?" Dante asked. Kent and I sniffed the air.

"Of course we do, it's the only thing you can smell around here!" I answered, breathing in the sweet smell of human.

"No, Pablo,the other smell! Doesn't it smell a bit. . . _too_ nice?" Dante pressed on.

I took a deeper breath, and I heard Kent take one too.

"Yes, it's smells like. . . Courtney!" Kent said very happily. He was almost at a run now, with Dante and I on his heels.

"No, it smells like _us_." I countered. There was definitely a vampire in this little town.

"But what are the chances that he or she is here at the _exact_ same time as us?" Kent argued.

"Maybe they aren't passing through. Maybe they live here." Dante said, "It smells like three, but possibly four. The fourth scent is fainter then the others." I breathed in. Yes, I could definitely smell the four distinct sweet scents; lilac, vanilla, something very citrus, and a faint honey mixed in with the three strong scents.

"Should we skip here? I mean, I'm not in the mood for a fight, guys. All I want is to do is have a fun hunting trip with my two best friends before I marry my girl." Kent asked. Dante nodded. Dante knew what it was like without Sophie, his mate. Sophie had agreed to help out with her friend's wedding, and they were probably in the middle of deciding some mundane detail right this second.

Then there was me. Pablo, the friend of two couples. I'm not complaining, I mean, I get to plan this trip, and I have four very good friend and hunting partners. But maybe there was someone here. . .

"I don't think it'll be a problem I mean, they outnumber us right? As long as we don't show as a threat. . ." I trailed off.

Dante shrugged, "I don't care, I just want some food."

Kent nodded, "Why don't we just go eat, then find these others?"

I shook my head, "I don't think so. They might not like us hunting in their land. Why don't we go see them, then we can all hunt together?" Before the others could answer, we all heard a small cough behind us. We all whipped around quickly.

In the small clearing we had just crossed, there was a girl standing still. Too still to be human. Her hair was incredibly red, not a trace of orange or brown, but pure _red_. She was short and slight, with large doe eyes, and features too beautiful to be human. She was smiling coldly at us, and even though she was probably half my mass, I felt a bit intimidated by her.

Kent walked forward towards her with Dante and I trailing behind.

"Hello, do you live here?" He asked as kindly as possible. Kent was the cheerfullest of the three of us, and elected spokesman for our group when we saw others of our kind.

"Yes, my name is Penelope. I live in the small town here with my family." She smiled larger, showing us her perfect white teeth, a menacing tactic.

"Well, I'm Kent. This is Dante, and this is Pablo. We're on a tour of Canada, and we're just wondering if we can hunt on your land?" Kent asked, smiling pleasantly.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but these humans are under our protection. My family ha invested interest in them. Unless you can wait until after you leave, I can't let you near them." Penelope smiled still, even though her words sounded very menacing.

Dante spoke up, "Well then, I'm sure we can come back after we've fed, right guys?" He turned to us, but froze at Penelope's laugh.

"No, please don't try and trick me, it's rude. My family protects all humans here, so I'd rather you not try and slip past our rules." Penelope crossed her arms, a cool expression on her face. Dante looked shocked, no one ever caught on to his lies, especially so quickly.

Penelope laughed airily at his – and our – expression, "Don't worry, you aren't that easy to read. I just have a gift for knowing tells, that's all."

I looked over at Kent, who looked back at me. No, we didn't want to mess with this woman.

Kent , "Uh, we won't be here long, Miss. We're just passing through. Though, we'd love to meet some people who know their way around the province. We might want to come back with our mates sometime."

Penelope's shoulders relaxed once Kent spoke. Her smile became genuine and she said, "Alright then, thank you gentlemen. I'm sorry for giving you the cold act, but I had to make sure you didn't want trouble. Now you said mates, how many are in your coven?" She seemed genuinely interested. Kent nodded to me to answer.

I stepped forward, "Well, we're five in total. Kent and Dante's mates are back in Boston, where we all live. Me and my friends were having a trip around Canada for Kent's bachelor party." I smiled shyly at her, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Penelope nodded, "Well, to be honest, we've been expecting you. My mate Desmond told me about you hunting and we've been preparing for your visit."

Dante nodded, "Yes, that's definitely a good idea, in case we weren't hospitable. If it isn't too much trouble though," Dante gave Kent and me a significant look, "We'd love to meet your coven."

Penelope bristled slightly, but said, "Yes, we expected that too. You three should know though, we aren't your average group."

What did that mean? I looked at my two friends, but they had the same confused expressions.

"Um, when you say different. . . " Kent trailed off, staring at Penelope.

"Our coven doesn't eat normally. We've taken on a slightly different lifestyle." Penelope said, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"What do you mean? Do you feed more often or a different way or. . .?" Dante pressed.

Penelope let out a long breath, "No we're uh, _human friendly_, as my brother calls us."

All three of us were silent for a long moment. Sure, we understood the information in less then a second, but the shock took a little more time.

"You mean you don't. . . eat?" Kant asked, confused.

"Oh no, we eat. We eat animals, mostly deer and bears. Sometimes moose, if we find one. Desmond has a gift of humanity, so he's helped us immeasurably." Penelope stated proudly.

Dante was the first to get over his shock, "Wow, that's. . . different." Penelope laughed, and we followed suit, "But now I really want to meet your coven. That must take lot of self control! I'm not sure if I could ever do what you four do."

Penelope stopped laughing abruptly, "Three. Three of us are vampires. Sarah's. . . different. You should just be prepared to have to uh, control yourselves around her."

"What do you mean? She _is_ one of us, right?" I asked.

"Not quite. She's Carter's – my brother's – mate. She's going to be one of us though, or at Carter wants her to be, not that he'd ever say he wants her to be." Penelope rambled.

"She's human?" Dante asked point blank.

"Yes. But very nice, and smarter then you'd think humans are." Penelope defended.

Kent cleared his throat, "I can't say that doesn't turn me off, but we'll go with it. I would still love to meet your coven, if you have no objections. We can't stay long though, we will have to feed soon, and we're on a bit of a schedule."

Penelope nodded, "Yes, of course. Come with me." She smiled and started running through the forest. Kent looked back at us for one long moment, and Dante and I stared back.

"Are you three coming or what?" We heard Penelope call out.

"Coming!" We all called, and started off after her.

Sarah's P.O.V

Carter held my hand as we watched the door. I could hear the faint voices of Katie and Desmond upstairs. I was nervous, anxious, frightened. . . everything. I just wanted this over with.

_It'll be okay, Sarah._ Carter kept on telling me, _Everything will be fine_. It became a mantra, over and over again.

The door would open soon. So soon. I gripped carter's hand tightly, until I could see my knuckles whiten.

_You need to be calm, Sarah. They'll see how tense you are. Just relax._ I could tell he thought it was almost worthless to try and coax me, but that didn't stop him. He continued his mantras until the door opened. In a rash moment,I thought, _Well, now they can't tell me from the vampires; my heart stopped._

In walked four vampires. Penelope led the others into the hall. The first had dirty blond hair and a charming smile, with a shirt that had the British flag on it. The next looked slightly Hispanic, with dark brown hair and a nice grin. The third man looked very serious, with very short dark hair. All three of them had the same dark crimson eyes and the same polite yet distant expressions.

"Sarah, Carter, this is Kent, Pablo and Dante. They're touring all over Canada for Kent's bachelor getaway. Guys, this is my family, or part of it. Carter and Sarah."

Bachelor. . . getaway?? What?

"Is she okay?" I heard the blond one – Kent – ask Carter. Everything seemed to be slightly hazy.

"Sarah? Sarah? Are you okay?" I heard Carter call.

"Mmm, I just need a second. . . "I trailed off.

"Miss, are you alright?" Pablo – I think – called to me.

"Yes, yes, I just. . . I've been preparing all this time for inhuman monsters to come and take my loved ones from me, and to have a huge big thing, and then. . . this. A bachelor party? Really? Not that I'm complaining but. . . _really_?"

Carter held me for a long moment as everyone started at me. I looked at Carter, and he ketp my gaze.

"So, we're safe?" I whispered, although I knew everyone would be able to hear me anyways.

"Yes, Sarah. We're safe." Carter answered, kissing my forehead.

It was so silent, so still for the next long moment. Before I could control myself, I began to giggle. I looked up at Carter and started laughing my head off, just out of the relief and the release of all the tension.

The visit was short and much sweeter then I would have ever thought. The three guys were very polite, and great company. They gave us their address, and we gave them the promise that we'd look them up soon.

"Well, this has been great, I look forward to seeing all of you again soon!" Pablo said as we all made our way to the door.

"But we really need to get going if we're going to stay on schedule. " Kent added.

"And we won't hunt anywhere near here." Dante added, eying Penelope, who nodded.

The three vampires took their leave, and Carter closed the door behind them.

"It's over." I whispered to Carter when we went back to sit on the couch.

"Yes, but I think it's also just begun. . . " Carter said, "I think it's time the Brown family went on a little trip to Forks, Washington,"

**Author's Note: Next update: Cullens!**

**And also, I'm pretty late in announcing it, but the poll's in, and this is going to IGNORE Breaking Dawn.**

**The Nomad's pics will be on my profile, so please visit it and see those, and the other pictures for this story.**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah**


	18. Chapter 18: Meanwhile

**Author's Note: Sorry for another late update, school's killing me! Happy Halloween!!! Hee hee, I'm being a cannibal! (which I didn't know had two ns. Hm, go figure)**

**This is the first time I've written normal Bella in.... a long time. I'm always writing Sarah, or Amnesia!Bella (See I Do Or At Least I Did) So hopefully she doesn't seem _too _out of character!  
**

**But anyways, this is what's going on at the Cullen's while the Browns are coming! Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything Twilight, but I do own my own characters :D**

Chapter 18: Meanwhile....

Bella's P.O.V

This wedding would be the death of me. If I had to look at one more way to fold napkins, my head will _explode_.

"Alice, I seriously don't care anymore. You can make the napkins into unicorns for all I care, I just want to get this over with!" I said, exasperated.

Alice huffed, "Do you always have to ruin my fun, Bella? I mean really I-" Alice stopped talking abruptly, her eyes glazed over and her jaw went slack. I grabbed onto her arm so she wouldn't fall over, although she seemed to be graceful even while having a vision, something I may never understand.

After a full minute I began to get worried. Alice's visions never usually take this long. What was she seeing? I was about to reach for the phone when she resurfaced, her breathing deep and her golden eyes wide.

"Alice? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Carlisle. I need to talk to Carlisle. And. . . all the family. We need a meeting, _right now_." Alice was already dialing on her phone by the time I processed what she said. A meeting? What had she seen? Had someone in Forks found out about them? Had she seen something happen to one of us? Were the Volturi coming?

"No no and no. I'll tell you when the others get home. They'll be here in less then five minutes." Alice told me as she started to wring her hands. I had never seen Alice like this. I couldn't even tell if this news was good or bad. What could it have been?

Jasper was the first to come in. He ran to Alice, holding her. They were whispering, and I gave them some privacy as I walked into the living room.

Less then a minute later, Edward came into the room. Even though I was nervous – to say the least – about Alice's vision, I couldn't help but go breathless at the sight of him. He walked across the room to me, putting his strong arms around me and holding me close. I breathed in his heavenly scent, calming down now that he was here.

"Do you know what's going on?" Edward asked me.

"No, Alice said she'd tell me when we all get here." I whispered back, "Do you know?"

"No." Edward answered, a bit too quickly. I was about to ask when the others came in. I must not have seen them all come in from being preoccupied with Edward.

Carlisle led everyone into the dining room, where we would hold any family meeting. We all sat down, Carlisle at the head of the table. Esme on his right, Edward and I on his left. Alice was at the other end, Jasper on her right and next to me, and Rosalie and Emmett on her left and across from me.

"Now Alice," Carlisle began, "Please tell us what you saw."

Alice was practically vibrating in anticipation, "There are others. The Browns. In my vision, I saw them all, their whole recent history. They found out about us, and are on their way by plane! They have a human with them, a girl named Sarah. She's with Carter, the youngest of the three vampires. They've become vegetarians. They live in Nova Scotia, in a little mill town."

Silence. I could hear my own heartbeats in my ears. One, two, three. . .

Panic.

"What do you mean?" Rosalie.

"You mean they're like Edward and Bella?" Esme.

"Are they coming today?" Emmett.

"How old are they?" Carlisle.

"You're sure they're not enemies?" Jasper.

"Are you sure they aren't the Volturi?" Edward.

"Of course they aren't the Volturi!" Alice replied, "They should be here in less then a day, and they are our allies. Trust me."

"It's not that we don't trust you," Carlisle said softly, yet his voice gave the same effect as if he were shouting, everyone quieted, "It's that this is beyond anything any of us would have thought. How sure, _exactly_ are you that this coven isn't a danger to us?"

Alice didn't even have to think, "A hundred. I'm _certain_ about this. They mean us no harm, they're just curious."

"Like James was just _curious_?" Edward asked harshly, standing up.

"The Browns are a _family_. They love each other, and they value human life. For God's sake, Carter's planning to _marry_ a human! They are as far apart from James and his coven as we are. They're safe." Alice countered.

Edward stared at her for a long moment, listening to Alice's thoughts. Whatever he heard, he seemed to accept, because he sat back down, holding my hand on the table.

"Alright, let's say these vampires aren't a threat, We should probably inform the Werewolves, if they'll be here for a while." Carlisle looked at Alice expectantly.

Alice saw silent for a moment before answering, "Yes, they should be here for about. . . a week. It's a bit blurry though, they're not sure how we'll react to them. They seem to know about me, so they think we'll be prepared for them. Penelope has good faith in us, more then in Sarah." Alice laughed sadly.

"Wait, who?" Emmett asked.

"Penelope Brown and Sarah Hogan. There are also Desmond and Carter Brown. They all seem to be living together." Edward filled in, "there's a small girl too, Katherine, Sarah's sister. But, Alice hasn't seen her coming."

"Well, at least these people aren't total idiots." Rosalie muttered.

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked her.

Rosalie sat up a bit straighter, "Well, these people have never met us before, right? And, there are seven of us," Rosalie looked pointedly at me, "And three of them. Either they found out something that we left behind as a clue about how we feed and who we are, or the Volturi told them. Alice seems to think that they have nothing to do with the Volturi, so that must mean they want to know us pretty bad. We cover our tracks thoroughly. And if they're that clever, why would they bring a human with them to meet completely unknown vampires? So they must not be worried about their safety at all, either out of stupidity which seems unlikely seeing as they found us, or because they either know or have something that makes them sure we won't hurt them. Of course they wouldn't bring the child, because it's highly probable that they haven't told her about themselves. So if we say all that is true, isn't it most likely that one of them has a gift that makes it so that they know we're safe, or at least, that we won't harm them? But that goes back to my point that if they thought that we were any danger at all, since they're intelligent, they wouldn't bring the human. So we must believe that they have a gift that makes it so that they know that we are not a threat to them." Rosalie sat back with a smug smile plastered to her face, "Yeah, I'm not the dumb blond, remember?"

Alice scoffed, "You know, you could have just _asked_ me." she muttered.

"Alright. So here's the plan so far. We wait for them to show up, find out what's going on, and make sure everything's as it seems. If they're good, then we stay in contact, help each other out. Does that seem fair? There really isn't much we can do, other then that. Does everyone agree?" Carlisle asked.

I looked at Edward. His face was a mask of calm, of course.

"I say yes. I want to meet these guys!" Emmett said.

"I'm willing to give it a shot." Jasper added.

"It's not like there's anything _important_ on the line." Rosalie said, shrugging. Edward tensed at her words, but didn't say anything.

"I'd love to meet them. I hope they're as civil as the Denali clan." Esme said.

Alice smiled widely, "Yes, yes, yes! Bella, I think you'll like Sarah! And Rosalie, you'll get along great with Penelope! And Desmond is almost as strong as Emmett, probably. And I think Carter and Edward could learn a lot from each other." Alice rambled.

Edward sighed, "Yes, it's not like we can really do anything to stop it, like you said, Carlisle. But if anything happens – anything – then I'm holding all of you responsible."

"Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"I. . . yes. I want to meet them." I said firmly.

Carlisle smiled, "Good then, it's settled."

Edward looked at me, deep in my eyes. I stared back. No, this seemed anything but settled.

**Author's Note: Alright guys, they're about to meet! I'm thinking of doing it so that you get the initial meeting, then possibly one on one with all the different characters (So, Bella and Sarah talk, Edward and Carter talk, Emmett and Desmond wrestle, etc...) Anyways I'm curious. what do you, my awesome reader, want to see? you can review or PM ****to tell me **** what combination of characters you'd like to see, and if you'd like you can tell me why, so that I don't start writing really odd conversations :)**

**I think I'm most looking forward to Penelope and Rosalie, and also Sarah and Edward :D**

**And if you didn't notice, I kind of made fun of Bella with the over description of Edward, because she's the original fangirl, and she sort of annoys me.... Thus I don't write fanfics that have her as she usually is lol.  
**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah**

**P.S - Points to Rosalie for her awesome analyzing skills! No, all the English 10 Essay Writing hasn't gone to my head, what are you talking about???  
**


	19. Chapter 19: Who's That!

**Author's Note: Hey Everybody!!! I want to thank everybody fro their awesome reviews thus far! I really love the support! Katherine, since I can't reply to you, I'm telling you here: Thanks, I'm blushing, hee hee!**

**Thank you to everyone for the suggestions, I've taken all of them into consideration!**

**The first part is something I came up with without any premeditated thought. Hope you like!**

**Disclaimer: Twilight characters and universe belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

Chapter 19: Who's that?!

Mike's POV

"I'll see you guys later, I have to go pick up some stuff!" I called to Eric and Tyler. They waved to me and started walking to their houses. I crossed the street to get to the small convenience store. It didn't seem very busy, only a few cars in the lot in front of the store. I scanned for the one of those _Cullen_ cars, but I didn't see anything that expensive.

_Cullen_. I scoffed in my head. There was a rumour that Bella was marrying him. Well, I didn't really believe it. God I hated that guy. The _ding_ noise went off as I walked into the small store and started wondering the short aisles for the chips I was supposed to pick up for the movie night at my house. A few people were coming, nothing too big, Lauren, Eric, Ben and Ang, Tyler, and Jessica. I shuddered slightly at the thought of her. Sure she was nice and all, but she was always so nasty whenever we broke up. Then again, since we were barely together for more then a few weeks at a time, I didn't really know how she acted when she wasn't mad at me.

I had tried to invite Bella, but she had given me a weird look and said she was busy. When I asked why, she had said that _Cullen_ had some relatives coming over for the week, and they were really busy getting ready.

I compared the prices of the brands and the types of chips. Rippled would be better for dipping, but I always preferred the thinner type. The gang had already told me which kinds to get; two bags of salt and vinegar, three of plain, one of barbeque and one of sour cream and onion. I grabbed the bags and was about to head to the counter when the ding went off at the front of the store. I looked up quickly to see who it was.

_Oh damn, more Cullens._

Four teenagers walked in quietly. The girl in front had light brown hair with blond streaks and caramel eyes. She was short and well, _curvy_. The guy next to her was way taller and had broad shoulders. He had brown hair and a bemused expression. I could see the exact same colour in his eyes as in the Cullens. Yeah, they had to be related. Behind them was an incredibly thin with fire engine red hair. She looked like she was trying not to roll her eyes at something. The last guy was huge, almost as big as that Emmett guy. He had really short black hair and a smile plastered on his face. The girl in front was in the middle of talking.

"Don't worry; I just want to get something to eat in here before we get there!" She explained to her friends. I walked to the back of the store quietly. I wanted to see this. Maybe I could dig up some dirt on the perfect Cullens.

The guy with the brown hair followed her like a lost puppy as she noodled around the store, "We'll be there in literally _five minutes_, Sarah. Don't you think you can wait until then?"

Sarah - the first girl - shrugged, "You never know, they might not have much to eat at their house."

The guy rolled his eyes, "they aren't completely out of society, Sarah."

I huffed louder then I'd meant to. What did he mean, not completely out of society? I'll admit, Forks is no L.A, but there's no reason to be rude. I walked back to the chips to get some dip, remembering we didn't have some at home.

"Excuse me?" A light voice asked. I turned and saw the red head tapping me on the shoulder.

"Yeah?" I answered.

"Do you know how to get to the Cullen residents?" She asked pointedly.

"Um, you go down to the highway, and then take the second exit south. You go for about two miles, and then you should see a driveway on your left. It's a bit hard to find though, especially late at night." I looked over at the sky; the sun had just gone down. It was Twilight, or maybe Dusk.

The girl nodded, "Thank you very much." She smiled and turned back to her group. The brown haired boy looked at her with an intense expression and she huffed, "Yes, Carter. It's true."

It's true? Huh? Were all Cullens genetically designed to be… _odd_?

"I found them!" Sarah called to the other three. She was right next to me in the chip aisle.

"Finally, let's get it and go!" The black haired guy grumbled.

Sarah picked out all dressed and brought them with her to the cashier.

"That smells disgusting." Carter whispered just in ear shot of me. Sarah just shrugged and paid for the food. The four visitors thanked the worker and left without another word.

Sarah's POV

"That guy was really weird." I whispered as we left the store.

"Huh?" Carter asked. All four of us got in the car before I answered.

"The guy Penelope asked about the directions. He was staring at us like we were freaks."

Desmond chuckled, "get used to it, Sarah. When you're with us, you're in the constant spotlight."

Penelope nodded, "But I get what you're saying Sarah, he was looking at us especially odd. Maybe the Cullens aren't as inconspicuous as they appear." She smirked, as if she was happy they weren't better then us. I don't think I'll ever completely understand her way of thinking.

As Penelope had told us, the creepy boy had been right. The Browns had no problem finding the driveway, and we were halfway up the winding driveway before anyone spoke.

"Should we just drive up, or get out here or…?" Desmond asked Penelope.

Penelope shook her head, "Oh no, Alice knows we're coming, and probably when by the second. She should have figured out by now exactly what we want, so they shouldn't be hostile."

"Who's Ali-" Desmond stopped asking once we rounded the last bend.

The house was huge, probably at least twice the size of ours. It was very big and very white. On the front porch were eight people, all silent and looking very tense.

"Oh, and I better warn you," Penelope said as we got out of the car, "Watch your thoughts."

Edward's POV

_Watch my… wait what?_ The girl thought as the four approached us.

_Whoa, nice house. We should get a porch like this for ours… _The man next to her thought. From what Alice had seen, that was probably Carter.

_Hmm, hello Edward, nice to meet you. _ The red haired woman thought to me. She must have been Penelope. So the other girl had to be Sarah. I nodded my head slightly to her.

_Wonder if they have any good racing games…_ The last guy thought. I rolled my eyes. He must be Desmond

Sarah was getting paranoid as they walked towards us. _Can one of them hear my thoughts? Then they can hear them right now? Oh jeez!_

Carlisle stepped forward slowly to welcome our guests. He smiled politely.

_Whoa, who is _that_? _Sarah thought.

"Hello!" Carlisle called, smiling. They were pretty much right in front of us now. I looked over at Bella. She looked concerned. I took her hand and kissed it lightly. She relaxed a bit, but didn't take her eyes off of Sarah.

Bella's POV

I suppressed a groan as they walked towards us. That girl was who you would think would be with vampires. She had nice hair and big light brown eyes. Not to mention an actual _figure_. She looked like she belonged here.

Sarah's POV

_Aw man_, I thought, _she's gorgeous!_

Even though you could tell she wasn't a vampire, she was definitely beautiful. No doubt about that. She was proportionate, unlike me. She was staring at me though, like I was staring at her. We were very different, but very similar. We both loved someone that was infinitesimally better for us then anyone else.

"Hello!" The oldest looking man said, coming closer to us as we approached. He looked… like a real celebrity. He had ash blond hair and a very welcoming smile. Carter led us to him.

"Hello, sir! It's very nice to meet you!" Carter said, offering his hand to the blond man.

"And you too. My name is Carlisle Cullen. This is my family." He motioned to the other seven, who came down from the porch to meet us.

"Hello, my name is Esme, I'm Carlisle's wife." The oldest looking woman said. She had beautiful caramel hair that fell in big curls.

"My name's Alice and this is Jasper." A petit girl said as she and the tallest man got to us. She had spiky jet black hair, and he blond. They looked like opposites, "though, I'm sure you know that by now." She looked at Penelope, smiling.

"I'm Rosalie, and this is Emmett." A golden blond woman said. She was holding hands with Emmett, a curly haired mountain. He could hive Desmond a run for his money.

The last couple came up to us. These were the two I was most interested in, "Hello, My name is Edward, and this is my fiancée Bella." The man said. He was remarkably attractive, I had to say. Although I really didn't feel _attracted_ to him, I could see that he was incredibly handsome. Bella smiled shyly at me and I returned it.

"Hello! I'm Carter Brown. This is my sister Penelope and her husband Desmond. And this beautiful girl," Carter gave me a little squeeze, "Is my girlfriend, Sarah."

Alice seemed to shake while Carter spoke. She barely let him finish before saying, "I know! I know all about you guys! I can't wait to be friends!"

Carlisle cut in, "How about we get in before we catch cold?" He grinned and the ten vampires all smirked at Bella and me, the only ones who had to worry about that.

Everyone agreed and we all went inside. Like the outside, everything in the house was very bright and white.

"You're welcome to stay for as long as you'd like, we've got a lot we'd like to know and discuss." Carlisle told us.

"Thank you, but we can't stay too long. My little sister will get lonely with only my dad, and I have a lot of schoolwork that I'll need to catch up on. Anyways, no one would believe that my great aunt Bessie's funeral in California would take longer then a week or two." I explained.

*

The guys had all found a common interest; gaming. I sat with Carter as he, Desmond, Emmett and Jasper all tried to kill each other virtually. Edward had gone with Bella to her house for the day.

"Damn it, where are you?" Emmett kept on muttering as they played. It was one of those games that you almost played hide and seek against everyone.

"You want to know?" Carter asked playfully.

"Yes!" Emmett yelled.

"I am… _right behind you_!" At his words all three of the guys attacked Emmett at the exact same time.

"What.... What did you just....?" Emmett was lost for words.

I saw Carter's expression turn to concentration. I laughed as I saw Emmett's face change as he heard Carter's 'voice'.

"Whoa, did you just... you're in my head!" Emmett said, perplexed.

"Hey you want a rematch?" Jasper asked. I knew the three guys would ambush Emmett again using Carter's gift. Sure it was cheating, but it was pretty hilarious to watch Emmett.

So the rest of the night, that's all we did. Hung out, got to know the guys. I remember everything going fuzzy, and lying down on Carter's hard chest. I closed my eyes and got lost in sleep, happily anticipating the next couple of weeks.

**Author's Note: Like? Don't like? Want something to happen? Then tell me!**

**And so far, jsyk, I already have about 20 conversations/scenes for the Browns/Cullens. I've got the topics all picked out, and I'm still open to more! In case you're wondering, these are the groups I have so far:**

**Mike. Sarah and Bella, Sarah and Edward, Bella and Carter, Emmett and Desmond, Penelope and Rosalie, Carter and Carlisle, Penelope and Esme, Sarah and Rosalie, Bella and Edward, Sarah and Esme, Bella and Penelope, Carter and Edward, Sarah calls Katie. Desmond and Alice,Emmett and Carter, Penelope and Jasper, Sarah and Carter, Penelope and Alice, Penelope and Edward, Carlisle and Esme, and finally Sarah Edward Bella and Carter together.**

If you didn't see one you want, tell me and I'll see if I can put it in.

**Again, thanks so much for the support!**

**Oh, and check out Fanpiremari's story ****"First Impressions". I think it'll be an awesome story :D (Hope she doesn't get mad at me for advertising.... lol)**

**Ciao!**

**- Sarah**


	20. Chapter 20: Brawl and Bed Talk

**Author's Note: Hey guys, hopefully this is a better update time then the last one! I'm amazed at the reviews I'm getting, and I love you all for it. I never would have thought i'd make it to Chapter 20! So this shapter is short, but since most of these next chapters will be in one shot form, I should be faster!**

**Credit to finger craker for giving me an idea for this chapter :P unfortunately, I had to tweak it because I needed to stay mostly in character! Maybe in the outtakes though :D**

**So, happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight Characters or the Twilight Universe, that is all Stephenie Meyer. My character though are indeed mine :)**

Chapter 20: Brawl and Bed talk

Carter's POV

I carried Sarah quickly up to one of the guest rooms the Cullens had set up. I laid her down on the soft bed and pulled the covers up to her shoulders. I brushed the hair out of her eyes and leaned down. I kissed her cheek lightly. Sarah moved her head closer and I smiled. She was so cute. I stalled in the room, tracing her soft features with my hand. I could hear the guys downstairs, playing a new game while they waited for me. I sighed and headed for the door.

"I love you." I whispered before I closed the door.

I ran down the stairs and into the living room. These two guys were fast becoming my new best friends.

"Hey Cart! Get over here so we can all kick zombie butt!" Emmett yelled. Alice Rosalie and Penelope were all sitting with their men. I sat in the only available space between Emmett and Desmond.

The game was pretty good, if some bad plot line. Then again, all we really wanted to do was blow stuff up, so it didn't really matter. We had a great time playing, and the three girls got really into it.

"Des, can I try?" Penelope asked sweetly. Penelope was the undisputed master of all video games, and I had been hoping she wouldn't play and make fools of all of us.

"Sure Pen. Come here." Penelope sat on his lap and took the controller.

"Ready to get annihilated, guys?" Penelope asked. I could see the glint in her eyes that always came with competition.

"Alright Sugar, we'll be easy on ya." Emmett teased. Penelope raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet.

_You're going to kill him aren't you?_ I asked her jokingly.

"Maybe." Penelope mouthed to me. I grinned.

After a full minute of intense zombie killing, Emmett finally started yelling, "What are you doing, Carrot Top? How the heck did you just -" Emmett cut off when he saw Penelope's killing score almost double in seconds, "Jeez, Fireball, you're good!"

"What, no Sugar anymore?" She teased, leaning over me to playfully punch him in the shoulder.

"How about we try a different game?" Jasper asked. We all agreed.

"Anne of Green Gables over here can pick since she won." Emmett said a bit sourly, but mostly teasing.

"Hmm, which one to pick…" Penelope skimmed over the games, "How about a Mario game? Oh, Brawl!" Penelope's eyes lit up at the sight of her favourite game, "That is, if you can handle getting beat twice by a girl." She added.

"Bring it on, sister." Emmett said, hands on the controller and ready to play.

I opted out to watch, and so did Jasper. Emmett and Penelope started the game. Emmett chose Bowser of course, and Penelope chose Princess Peach. Emmett snickered at her openly.

_Don't hurt his ego too bad, you're a guest._ I reminded her. She smiled.

The game started. Emmett full on charged, while Penelope flitted around him, flying and swerving. Emmett fell of the edge of the play area over and over again as Penelope somehow dodged him.

"You're good Princess, I'll give you that." Emmett growled. Penelope grinned and decided to strike. She attacked abruptly, in the middle of one of her manoeuvring moves. She hit him over and over again, bringing his damage higher and higher.

"3…2…1… Finished!" The announcer on the game said.

"Damn it!" Emmett scowled, "You're good, girl. I'll give you that."

Rosalie sat forward on Emmett's lap, "I'll play you, Penelope." She said almost too sweetly.

Penelope visually bristled, "I'm not sure, I should probably go check on Sarah…"

"Come on, it'll be fun. I promise." Rosalie insisted. Penelope's forehead pulled together from the slight pain she got from the lie. She looked at Desmond, then at Rosalie.

"Fine, I'll play." Penelope said, matching Rosalie's fake smile perfectly. Desmond took her hand firmly, looking into her eyes. They had a silent conversation which Desmond must have lost. The two girls sat on either side of me, pure concentration on their faces.

The game started, Rosalie as Zelda and Penelope as Peach. The brawl started, and it was the most furious thing I have ever witness. The two girls literally growled at each other.

"I think it's going well, don't you?" Emmett said to Desmond.

"Oh yeah," Desmond replied, "They'll be the best of friends."

_Meanwhile, at the Swan residence…_

Edward's POV

I sat on Bella's bed with her as she looked for some music to play. She took one her stepfather had given her a few years ago and came over to sit with me.

"So," I began, not quite knowing what to say. Bella had been especially quiet on the way home, so I was pretty certain that she had something in her mind.

"How old do you think Sarah is?" she asked out of the blue. But of course, I knew she had a reason for it.

"I'm not sure. She's still in school, and I think she's in grade ten, so probably fifteen, maybe sixteen." I answered as I brought my hand to twist into her hair, playing with it.

"Wow." Bella said, looking thoughtful.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I met you when I was seventeen, and so were you. She's a kid, barely a teenager. And Carter's probably no older then sixteen. They're both so young, I don't know what to think about them." She explained, looking at her hands in her lap.

"Bella, they aren't us. They have their own future to play out. Just because they have the same… foundation of their relationship as us, it doesn't mean they're going to end up like us."

"But Sarah doesn't have that much time before she's too old to be -"

I cut her off, "She's not _you_, Bella. She's not worried about age or deadlines. She's a teenager in love, and let me tell you, she's in way over her head."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"If you could hear them… Every thought is about the other one. Sarah's really got a one track mind and Carter's is just… completely _engrossed_. They live in this little bubble, all by themselves. Sarah doesn't care about how old she is, and she knows that Carter loves her unconditionally." I tried to explain. They were a different couple then I had seen. Not really more in love then us or my family, but just… _different_. They had this innocent kind of fairytale.

"Oh, wow. I just thought that… I guess I thought they were us, without meaning to." Bella shrugged and moved closer to me, lacing her hands with mine.

"They're nice." I said after a long silence.

"Yeah," Bella said, "Sarah was looking at you." She added, almost as if she blurted it out.

I laughed, Bella was still this sensitive about other girls? Bella glared and I stopped to tell her, "Yes, and all she did was look, approve, and move on. Trust me."

"Oh," Bella said, looking embarrassed, "Well, ok then. They seem really cute together."

"Yes, but I really think Carter abuses his power on her." I said smiling.

Bella's eyebrows scrunched up cutely, "What do you mean?"

"He can project his thoughts into other's minds. So of course, he uses it on his girlfriend. You can tell by Carter's and Sarah's faces. Carter's is always concentrating, and Sarah's is usually blushing."

"That's cute. They're cute. I can't wait to get to know them." Bella whispered. I could tell she was getting tired.

"You ready for bed?" I asked.

Bella smiled, "As long as you're here."

I hugged her softly, "I will. Always."

**Author's Note:** **3 Ok, I just had to add that :P**

**I'm kind of in a funk right now, so any reviews would be great! I have a lot of homework and such (and a 5 minute french oral essay that I'm doing on vampires, no joke :P) so I'd love some way to procrasti- i mean uh, inspire me lol!**

**Nobody hates me for redhead jokes, right? 'Cause, it's all in good fun ^.^**

**Sorry if Brawl isn't quite what it's supposed to be. I don't think I'll ever understand that game, lol.**

**Ciao!**

**- Sarah**

**P.S make sure to go to "_First Impressions_" by fanpiremari :) If you like my writing, you'll prob like hers. Props! (heh heh heh, fanfic Advertising at work :D)**


	21. Chapter 21: The Hunt is Afoot!

**Author's Note: NO, another update? In the same day?? Why Sarah, it's a sign of the apocolypse!!**

**Well no, it's a sign of 100 REVIEWS!!!!!**

**I love you all. Every single one of you. Special shout out to: EdwardCullenIsBetterThenYou, because she's like, my #1 fan; Finger craker, because she really needs to copyright her ideas, lol ; LittleCoward for showing me the awesomeness of the word awesome, and just being... awesome! Also Katherine for being my #1 annonymous reviewer, and Fanpiremari for supporting my writting from the start. I can't belive how awesome it is to have 100 reviews, and I'm gonna stop bragging........... now.**

**Disclaimer: Twilight characters and universe are owned by Stephenie Meyer. OCs are mine, and should'nt be used by anyone unless they ask (1. bcause I'd like to see, and 2. because it's kinda rude not to ask.)**

Chapter 21: The Hunt is Afoot!

Sarah's POV

I woke up slowly, opening one eye lazily, then the other. The light was bright and blinding from the huge glass wall across from my bed. I groaned and flopped over so my face was in the pillows. The nice, dark pillows…

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty!" I heard someone yell. Someone loud.

Wait a second… this doesn't feel like my bed… or Carter's… where was I again?

"Hello?" The Someone yelled again. He was getting closer. I groaned and took one of the pillows and covered my ears.

There was a long moment of silence, and then I heard something. Something that sounded distinctly like the Jaws theme song. It got louder and louder until it sounded like it was right next to my ear.

"Dun dun. _Dun dun_. _DUN_!" Someone yelled as he ripped the pillow off of my head and whipped the covers off of me. I shivered and bolted off the bed as fast as I could to the wall, completely shocked, adrenaline running through my veins. That someone was _loud_! My eyes were at 'deer-in-the-headlight' level, practically popping out of my sockets.

Yesterday came rushing back to me quickly. The creepy boy… The blond man, the leader… the other girl, the only other human… video games… Carter carrying me… Emmett…

"You are very lucky that I can't hurt you." I mumbled, getting off the wall. Since last night, I already felt friendship to the Cullens, and I could already see how much I would miss them.

"But _I_ can." Carter said from the doorway. I looked over and saw the smirk on his face. He casually walked in, coming to wrap his arms around my arms, "Do you need protection from the scary grizzly?" He asked playfully.

I laughed and kissed his cheek lightly. Emmett rolled his eyes.

"You," I pointed to Emmett, "Are mean."

"And you," Emmett countered, pointing back, "Are a scaredy cat."

I stuck out my tongue at the exact same time my stomach growled.

"C'mon, let's get the human some food." Carter told Emmett, picking my up and starting to walk to the staircase.

"Hey!" I yelled, giggling, "Carter! Let go!"

"Let go!" Emmett mimicked, coming beside carter and tickling me.

"Ah! G-g-get off Em! I-i-it tickles!" I shrieked as the two continued tickling me all the way down the stairs. We got to the bottom and they both stopped dead in their tracks.

"Emmett McCarty Cullen!"

"Carter Vincent Brown!"

"Uh oh." Both vampires said at the same time.

Rosalie and Penelope were both standing at opposite ends of the room, arms crossed and eyes glaring. Carter set me down softly and said, "Why don't you go in the living room? I'll be right in." I nodded and he kissed my cheek before letting me down. I walked into the bright room, only hearing the low murmur of the arguments.

I walked over to the television. Maybe I could play a game without getting my butt whooped by supernatural vampires. I reached down for the controller when I saw the poor thing. It had been twisted and mangled so much that it looked more like a pretzel then anything else. I set it down lightly and went back into the main hall.

Rosalie was rolling her eyes at Penelope, who had one eyebrow raised and a hand on her hip. Carter and Emmett were trying to calm them both.

"- Acting like you own the place because you can beat me at a video game! What kind of name is brawl anyways? I mean, if you're going to pick any name, why 'Brawl'?" Rosalie ranted.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You're just mad I won against you and your macho husband." Penelope countered.

"Guys! Get a grip, can't you see how stupid this is?!" Carter yelled.

Rosalie huffed at the exact same time as Penelope, making them both scowl.

"You two are both so similar, it's scary." Emmett muttered.

"You know, he might be right." Penelope said, defeated. Rosalie glared at her and Penelope quickly added, "Well, I can't argue with the truth, and it's rolling off of him like nobody's business. Whether we like it or not, we're similar."

Rosalie sighed and nodded, "You might be right. Then, I'm sorry for being a poor sport about the game."

Penelope smiled, "No, you aren't. But I'll accept it anyways."

Carter walked back over to be, lacing his hand with mine.

"What exactly-" I began.

"Sarah, you really don't want to know."

*

Carter's POV

"Hey guys, want to go hunting?" I asked later that day. Edward had come back with Bella and he, Jasper, Emmett, Desmond and I were all in the living room, talking about nothing in particular.

The three Cullens froze for a second, but quickly relax. I looked at Edward, asking him mentally why.

"Sorry, we're used to other vampires meaning hunting as in _hunting_." He explained.

"Oh, right. Nope, nothing but good old moose, deer, and bears for me!" I said, smiling at the thought.

"Moose?" Emmett questioned.

"Hey, don't knock it 'till you try it!" I defended.

"What do you say? I could go for something right now." Desmond added.

"That's sounds good, count me in." Jasper said.

"Alright." Edward allowed.

"Cool! Let's get going!" Emmett shouted, heading for the door.

"Edward, want me to tell Bella and Sarah we're going?" I asked.

Edward smiled, "I think I can do that myself, but thanks."

I shrugged, "Cool, C'mon."

Bella and Sarah were upstairs in Edward's room, talking on the couch. They both looked up at us when we got to the doorway, and they both had the exact same look on their faces.

We walked in, going on each side with our girls.

"All the guys are going hunting, you don't mind if I go, do you?" I asked. Sarah shook her head and gave me a heart stopping smile. I grinned back and gave her a quick peck.

"I'll be back soon." I promised.

"Love you!" she called as I started for the door.

"Love you more!" I called back. Edward came out too and we made our way downstairs to the gang.

"Ready to go?" Desmond asked. I nodded and we all started towards the woods. After a few minutes, Edward groaned.

_What?_ I asked him.

Edward nodded to jasper and Emmett in front of us.

_I'm about to fund out, aren't I?_

Edward nodded and smirked slightly.

"Hey Cart!" Emmett yelled.

"Yeah?"

"So, how many animals would you say you get on an average hunt?"

"I dunno, three or four, why?"

"Well, Jasper and I were thinking that we should have a little competition." Emmett said. I could hear the grin on his face.

"Uh huh, and that would be…?" I asked.

"Well, what about we see who can feed the most in say, an hour? We come back and tell everyone. Edward, you can be the mediator to make sure no one cheats." Jasper explained.

"Why me?" Edward asked.

"Because we all know you'll lose." Emmett said, laughing.

"Okay, big game is worth let's say, three points. Small is one. We'll start in three… two... GO!" Jasper yelled, running north. Less then a sixteenth of a second later, we were all off ourselves.

*

"Alright, so we have three deer and two rabbits for Jasper, giving him eleven. One bear, three deer and some type of rat thing for Emmett, giving him twelve and a half because I think the rat was already dead. Carter had four deer, two rabbits and an uh, porcupine, which gives him fifteen. Finally Desmond with two deer, a gopher type thing and thirteen rabbits, thus giving him twenty. And I got a mountain lion, thus giving me a hundred points."

"What?" The four guys yelled.

"Sorry, rules are rules. Mountain lion beats everything, like rock paper scissors. I win." I shrugged and started walking away.

I was almost a mile away when I heard Jasper ask, "Okay, well who's up for a jumping contest?"

**Author's Note: So if you haven't noticed, I love having fun with my characters. And yes, Mountain lion beats rock paper and scissors. always. No joke.**

**My reviewers are the best people I will ever know, I love you. It says it's 1:30 am right now, so... I'm done for tonight... today... you get it.**

**Ciao!**

**Sarah**

**P.S AWESOME!!**


	22. Chapter 22: All the Pieces

**Author's Note: Hey guys! I love all my revewers :D You rock! Hope you enjoy!**

**Writer's block sucks though, I'm having some trouble with it :(**

**Disclaimer:Twilight characters and universe are owned by Stephenie Meyer. OCs are mine, and should'nt be used by anyone unless they ask.**

Chapter 22: All the Pieces

Sarah's P.O.V

I sat with Bella upstairs on her - or rather Edward's - black leather couch. I could hear the low murmur of the guys' voices from downstairs.

"Is it weird being around them, all the time?" I whispered to Bella.

"What do you mean?" She whispered back.

"Well, is it weird that they're _always_ better then you? I mean, at _everything_?" I asked, blushing slightly.

"I know what you mean. It's like they can't help but-"

"Be amazing?" I finished. Bella giggled and nodded.

"They really are, aren't they? Amazing, I mean." I said.

"Mmm." Bella agreed.

I heard the door open and looked up at the same time Bella did. The two looked indescribable. Carter's face was lit up with a wonderful smile, his beautiful ochre eyes glinting. I barely saw Edward, I was so distracted.

Edward's eyes strayed to mine for a millisecond, probably.

_What? _I thought. _I'm a teenager. This is what we do._ Edward's eyes rolled slightly, but that was quickly shoved to the back of my mind by my wonderful vampire boyfriend walking over to me.

"All the guys are going hunting, you don't mind if I go, do you?" Carter asked. He looked so cute, asking for permission. I shook my head and smiled. Carter grinned back, the picture of happiness. He leaned down and gave me a quick and lovely peck on the cheek, "I'll be back soon." He whispered. He straightened up and headed for the door.

"Love you!" I called to him.

"Love you more!" He called back. Edward followed him out the door, and it closed behind him.

There was a long minute of silence, and then I looked at Bella, who looked at me in turn. We started giggling at the same time, and didn't stop for a few minutes. I'm not quite sure _what_ I was laughing at, but any tension that might have been floating around us was now gone.

"Gosh they're something." I said once the last of our laughing had stopped.

"Yeah, I'm not sure how much my heart can take." Bella agreed.

"Seriously, I'll be the first person to die from loving someone." I said, laughing again.

"Oh no, the second. They'll be this girl before you that got an over dose of her fiancé's dazzling skills and dropped dead." Bella countered. We both laughed harder. I could see how we could become good friends.

"So, have you thought about the future?" Bella asked abruptly.

"You mean college? I have a lot of time to decide. Carter wants me to go to the University of Iowa, because of their great writing programs. I'm thinking something closer though. Dalhousie University is in Halifax, and that's only three hours away. It's pretty well respected, and has a lot of discounts, like pools and special libraries and all that. Carter's been to most Universities in Nova Scotia, but I'm sure he'd-"

"No," Bella interrupted, "I mean, about your future with Carter."

"Oh… Oh! Well, we're not quite sure, I guess. I mean, he has every intention of marrying me, but I'm not sure what's going to happen with becoming a vampire. He doesn't like talking about it. He told me once that it would hurt him so much just to watch me turn. I mean, I want to be like him, sure. But I'm a sensible person. I mean, who wants to be fifteen forever, right?"

"Bella does!" Someone called from the doorway. I looked over to see a slim girl with short black hair walk in. Alice, I think was her name.

"Hey Sarah, yes, my name's Alice, no need to ask!" Alice laughed and sat with us on the couch, "So yes, Bella's not quite as patient as you." I looked over at Bella, who was blushing tomato red and glaring at Alice.

"Really? Well, you are eighteen, right? I guess that's better then me. Carter's just shy of sixteen."

Alice nodded, but then froze, like she was in a trance. I looked at Bella, but she didn't seem alarmed.

"What's going -?"

"She's having a vision, that's all." Bella explained, "It should be over in a few seconds."

The few seconds passed, and Alice became reanimated. She started laughing loudly, sounding like bells.

"What?" Bella asked.

"I just saw our boys going out into the forest to have some fun." Alice said between giggles.

"What did Emmett do this time?" Bella and I asked at the same time. We looked at each other and laughed with Alice.

"They first decided to have a hunting contest. Edward will cheat because the others didn't let him in on the game, and he's going to walk back to see you. Jasper's going to ask if the remaining four want to have a jumping contest. He'll win over Carter by less then an inch. Then Emmett will call for a wresting tournament. Carter beats Emmett, Jasper beats Desmond. Carter and Jasper fight for almost fifteen minutes before the four decide to have a race. Desmond wins this one, to all their surprise. Carter will say he misses you, and the other guys will agree to go home. They'll be back in exactly half an hour." Alice reported.

"Wow, you sure are precise!" I said, not knowing what else to say.

"Thank you, I try." Alice said, giggling.

"What are we going to do with them?" I asked playfully.

"Love them. It's all we can do." Bella answered.

"Mm." Alice and I agreed.

***

Carlisle's P.O.V

Esme sat with me in my office. I was doing a few last minute things for the hospital, and she was sketching on the couch.

Esme looked up at me, and I looked back at her. I was so blessed, to have her and this family.

"Carlisle?" She asked.

"Hmm?" I replied.

"We've done good, haven't we?" She asked, smiling.

"Most definitely." I answered.

"I'm so happy we're together, all of us. I already feel like the Browns are my own children." Esme said, sighing happily.

"I do too. I can't believe how fortunate our family is." I walked over to the couch to sit with Esme. I looked down at her sketch, "That's lovely, Esme. How'd you come up with that?"

"I don't know, I suppose with the visitors and Bella finally becoming officially part of our family, I just got the image of our family being this big puzzle. Bella, Sarah, Carter, Penelope and Desmond… they all fit it perfectly." Esme beamed up at me and I could feel my heart warm. The drawing was of a single puzzle piece, very simple but very symbolic.

"I love it." I murmured into her hair. Esme sighed and scooted closer to me. We sat together in our own little bubble, relaxed and content.

For about ten seconds. Then, the door opened.

"Yes! Who's the fastest? Desmond Brown! Woo!"

"Yeah, but I'm the highest jumper!"

"A few more minutes and I would've beaten you Jazz!"

I looked down at Esme and chuckled, "I wonder if the boys are back?" I asked.

Esme giggled, "I wonder."

**Author's Note: So yeah, I like Esme ^.^**

**I've made a - badly done :P - cover for A New Dusk, and I'll be putting it up right after i put this up.**

**Shoutouts to: EdwardCullenIsCoolerThenYou because I wrote her name wrong and because she's awesome. Sorry again!! Finger craker 'cause she's supreamly awesome, Hanner Nanners 'cause I like her reviews, Batgirl54 for helping me get off my lazy butt and writing lol, Katherine for being awesome, as always, and fanpiremari, 'cause girl's got talent.**

**- Sarah**

**P.S MOVIE!!!!! hee hee, I'm so excited :D**


	23. Chapter 23: Thirst

**Author's Note: hey Guys! 139 reviews and counting!!!! You guys ROCK! EdwardCullenIsCoolerThenYou - You kinda scare me, in a very good way :P This chapter is where we're getting some actual plot... you know that thing that's not in this at all lol?**

**Disclaimer: I'm tired, read the prior chapters for the Disclaimer, it hasn't changed.**

Chapter 23: Thirst

Carter's P.O.V

When we got back from our competitions, Carlisle had asked me to come talk with him in his study. The other guys had all gone to find their mates, and I was missing Sarah. I had no clue what was going on with her Alice and Bella. Sarah hadn't had too many girl friends, and Penelope had never been the makeover type.

Carlisle led me to the study, and I had to say, it was impressive. Books, computer, and walls full of paintings.

Carlisle went to his chair behind the desk, and motioned to the chair in front of him. I sat down quickly and waited for Carlisle to start.

"So, I asked to talk to you privately to talk to you about something specific." Carlisle said, seeming to beat around the bush.

"Yes, sir?" I asked.

"Well, I was wondering how you were handling your thirst around Sarah." Carlisle said.

"Better then I would have ever expected, sir. I heard from the guys that Bella is Edward's singer, and that's why it's been so immensely hard for him to be around her. Sarah's definitely not my singer – not that she doesn't smell heavenly. But she's my soul mate. I was attracted to her before I knew her name. And she told me she was the same. I think we're just... meant together. Or, I like to think so because of the shameless romantic in me. To be honest, I haven't had anything close to the trials Edward's had, and I hope I never will." I said.

"What about changing her? Have you had any thoughts on that?" Carlisle asked.

"Well, we have plenty of time. I mean, I'm a reasonable guy. I understand that we both want her to become a vampire, but Sarah's fifteen. She's barely more then a child, and she's a minor. I know I felt... robbed when I became eternally sixteen. I don't want that for Sarah. We'll be able to really talk about it more when we get closer to a time that it would be... suitable, but for now I just want her to be my girlfriend, and I her boyfriend. Although I'd never say no to fiancé." I said laughing.

"Alright, I just wanted to make sure you were being-" Carlisle was cut off by a loud crash and intense growls. Then the worst thing I'd ever hear in all my 132 years. Sarah's panic scream. And so fast I barely registered it by the time I moved, the honey sweet scorching scent of _Sarah_.

I ran so fast, the room was a blur, even to my vampire eyes. I could have been going back in time, I was so fast.

*

_Five Minutes Earlier_

Sarah's P.O.V

"Do you want some popcorn?" I asked Bella. We were in the living room now, watching a very old movie with Desmond, Penelope and Jasper. Edward and Emmett had gone into town to get some human food.

"That'd be great, thanks." Bella called as I made my way to the kitchen. I looked through the cupboards to find the microwave popcorn, going from one to another.

"Middle left, dear." Esme called from somewhere upstairs.

"Thank you!" I called as I opened the door to find the bags. _Mmm, extra butter!_

I popped the bag in and set the time, humming a tune I had heard Edward playing before. It was nice and sweet, but the ending was a bit too sad for the rest of the song. It was light and fluid, and it wouldn't surprise me if he had made it just for Bella.

I decided to get some pop too, so I went to the fridge. Inside was pretty empty, but I found the coke no problem. The cap was tight; I couldn't get it with my bare hands. I went to the drawer and got out a knife.

I was halfway around the little cap when my hands – I had never had steady ones – slipped and I sliced my thumb clean down.

"Oh _Crap_!" I hissed. I saw the drop of blood on my hand and froze.

Blood.

Vampires.

Oh fudge. Oh fudge, fudge, _fudge_!

I whirled around, my back to the counter, holding my thumb close to try and mask the scent.

Too late though, way too late.

There was silence in the whole house, not even a single solitary noise.

Then hell.

I saw a flurry of movement between the kitchen and the living room. Desmond was desperately holding onto poor Jasper, who was completely wild. Penelope was trying to help, but I could see that her face was a mask of want. She had enough training not to attack, but not to help stop others.

I looked back at Jasper and his jaw snapped like a great white, or maybe a lion. I couldn't concentrate on animal metaphors at a time like this.

Desmond tried to reposition himself but it made his grip slip. I could tell Jasper was about to launch himself at me and I did the only thing I had enough thought process to do.

I screamed like there was no tomorrow, and to be fair, there might not have been.

I can't really remember what happened next. It was way too fast, but from what I could piece together Carter got to me right when Jasper did, and they sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before. Like two huge metal boulders crashing together and then the nails-on-a-chalkboard on the two fighting.

Whatever happened, about four seconds after I screamed, Jasper was restrained by Penelope – who had snapped out of her blood lust after the fight – and Desmond. Carter was in front of me, seething.

"Jasper," Carter growled, "I understand... that it was not... completely your fault.... but please do not talk to me... for a little while." He said slowly. At first I thought it was out of anger, but then I saw that he was trying to draw breath without smelling the air.

Carter turned to me and tried to smile, but it looked menacing, even though I trusted him completely. His eyes were pitch black and he was no longer breathing.

"Sarah... Don't... Don't move." Carter said. I nodded slightly and kept my hand to my body, "Good, now don't... don't worry. Everything'll be fine."

I saw Penelope bristle at his words, and heard her hiss loudly.

"_Carter, what are you doing_?!" She growled as Carter walked closer to me, so slow it was like he wasn't moving at all.

"I'm assessing the damage." Carter whispered as he crept slowly closer.

"Cart, are you okay?" I whispered. I saw him pause at my words, and I could almost see the predatory layer melt away from my Carter.

"S-Sarah, I think I'm... I'm not in control. I... I'm thirsty. _So_ thirsty." He whispered.

"Carter, get through this. Think of me. I'm your girlfriend, Carter, not your supper. We're going to get married, and live together forever, and be silly teenagers in love. You won't hurt me, Carter." I said with more force and honesty then I may have ever said anything. I reached out my hand before I could stop myself, and the smell hit Carter with what looked like the force of a steamroller.

Oh _Fudge_.

**Author's Note: OH NOES what's gonna happen?!?!**

**So it struck me that Carter and Sarah haven't really had to deal with too much on the thirst front, so this is what happens. Wouldn't it be funny if she changed in Forks? Maybe that's just my freaky sense of morbid humor? Yes? Ok lol.**

**As you can see, I don't like to swear in my stories, lol.**

**I'm so happy w/ my new reviewers, I can't tell yuo how happy I am that people from the beginning and people just joining me have gotten to read this and told me what they thought. It gives me the warm fuzzies :D**

**- Sarah**

**P.S For the curious: My Essay went AWESOMELY, and my questions from my class were: "If you were alone with a Vampire, and you had a gun, would you kill it?" "If Bella was dead and you were on a date with Edward Cullen, where would you go?" and "How did Mona become a Vampire?" Needless to say, my class loved it :P**


	24. Chapter 24: CommonSense,or Lack There Of

**Author's Note: Sorry for the delay! And this chapter's pretty short due to writer's block and too much work. I HATE TRIG!! But anyways, here's the highly anticipated (lol) resolution from last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I do own my own characters, so no stealing!!**

Chapter 24: Common Sense, or Lack There Of

Carter's P.O.V

Sarah's hand reached forward and I could hear her talking to me, trying to reason. Something about us being together and loving me and - _oh that smell!_

It was like chocolate, honey, sugar, everything _sweet_ and _good_ and _delicious_! But it hurt too, more then I could bear. It was like an army of knives cutting my throat and then lighting it on fire. The burning made me shiver.

I had smelled the floral smell of Bella, and although it was very nice, it was nothing to Sarah. Sure, she wasn't my singer, but she smelled _so_ good. It was like her whole good nature, in a scent. And that damn thumb and all that blood… it was like nothing I could describe. I was floored by it.

I knew what I must have looked like. Sarah's expression was enough to tell me. But she didn't quite look _scared_, but more… shocked.

"Carter, are you… Carter?" Sarah stuttered. She sounded so breakable, so vulnerable.

"S-Sarah, say something. Talk about something, make me stop. _Please_, I can't concentrate. Stop me." I whispered, too weak to be able to stop myself alone.

"Alright… um, I heard that you almost beat Jasper in the wrestling match." Sarah said.

Against the thirst I smiled, "Yeah, a few more minutes and I would've gotten him, trust me. More please." I added.

"Carter you can do this. You will not hurt me. Do you know what will happen if you try and get me?" I shook my head, "Well, either Desmond or Penelope will have to restrain you, and then Jasper may get loose, and then I may get hurt. Do you want me to get hurt, Cart?" I shook my head furiously, "Alright. Then can you go and get the first aid kit? I'm pretty sure it's in the hall closet. I can't really move right now." Sarah laughed lightly. I nodded and slowly moved back from her, inch by inch. Sarah smiled encouragingly to me and I smiled back. She was doing much better then I was with this, that's for sure.

I got to the hall and slowly broke my gaze from Sarah. I looked for the closet and I could smell the bandages from here. I slowly walked to the cupboard and opened it, quickly finding the kit. I walked back into the kitchen with it, and I was about to pass Jasper when I saw his eyes. The poor guy was desperate for blood, I could see it. He wasn't actively fighting right now, but he wanted Sarah. Part of me felt sympathy for him, but another felt fierce protection for Sarah. Other then myself, he was the only other big threat to her right now, and that made me hate him, no matter how good our friendship was.

Sarah had her thumb close to her body and was as far back as possible against the counter. I crept slowly towards her with the kit and set it down on the counter next to her. I stepped back and waited, in case I would have to run out from my own bloodlust, or have to stop Jasper's. But I could feel myself coming back, my sanity back in place. I was in control now.

"Carter, you want us to help Jasper get some clean air?" Desmond asked, "Will you be alright?"

I nodded, "Yes, I'm almost positive I'll be fine. You and Penny take him and help him. I'll take care of Sarah." The two nodded and - keeping their hands on him - brought Jasper outside.

Sarah was rummaging through the bandages when I turned back around. I could hear Carlisle getting up upstairs to help her.

_It's alright Sir, I can help her. I'm in control now. Penelope wouldn't have left if she didn't trust me that I was telling the truth._ I heard Carlisle sit back down in his chair, and the sound of him typing something on his computer. _Thanks you Sir._

"Would you like some help?" I asked, quickly taking in the air I would need to talk with and trying not to smell it.

"You don't have to test your limi-" I cut her off by taking her hand and going to the sink, turning it on and gently washing off her thumb.

"It's alright; it was more shock then anything else. The only other time I had ever smelled your blood was when I told you what I was. Remember?" I asked, trying to distract her. It worked because she laughed.

"Yes, I do. You sounded possessed." She said, giggling.

"I might as well have been. You sure cut yourself deep." I remarked as I continued cleaning, "What did you do?"

"I was trying to open the pop. It was being tricky and I'd used the knife a hundred times to get them open, it really isn't very hard. I slipped and it cut me." Sarah said softly.

"Does it hurt?" I asked.

"Well, it did, but then I was a tad preoccupied with the vampire swarm." Sarah said sarcastically.

"Right, sorry. I mean it, I can't believe myself."

"It's okay, I understand. It's just one of those things we're going to have to get used to." She said shrugging.

"Yes, like not using sharp pointy objects." I agreed.

"Yeah, but that's just using common sense." Sarah said.

"And you, my love, have the common sense of a _goat_." I replied, laughing.

Sarah looked like she was about to retort, but then thought about it and laughed, nodding, "You may be right."

I turned the tap off and found the proper bandages for her thumb. I gingerly wrapped it up securely.

"There, all fixed." I whispered.

"Thank you." Sarah whispered. I smiled and leaned in, kissing her forehead lightly.

**Author's Note: More soon, I promise!**

**Arg, personal stuff going on that is NOT helping me with writing happy not-twisty-angsty things! I may have to get it out of my system, but not in this story because this one is happy and good right now :)**

**Shout out to all my reviewers! You all rock and I love that y'all like this story! And I'm surprised (and loving) all the replies about changing Sarah. I agree totally, not now, but it will happen someday. Some pretty interesting conversations :D So EdwardCullenIsCoolerThenYou, Fanpiremari, finger craker, idkaname, Katherine, and Corina and all the usual suspects (which is also the name of an AWESOME movie with Kevin Spacey in it) You all rock and I'll make sure to shout out everyone that makes me feel fuzzy inside or helps out tremendously with the story *cough finger craker cough* LOL.**

**- Sarah**


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